Stumbles and Comebacks

The questions surrounding the efficacy of the carbon tax I'll leave to others who know more about this global warming issue than I do -- and that's most people.

Moreover, Premier Gordon Campbell's statesmanship in bringing the carbon tax next month may be impeccable.

I raise only the matter of politics.

There is a time to bring bad news to the electorate. W.A.C. Bennett had a theory that worked for nearly 20 years. For him it was, do the tough stuff in Year One, coast in Year Two, then pour on the goodies in Year Three, saying, of course, that these goodies came directly from his tough policies. Cynical? Perhaps but very effective.

Bennett II showed how you could make bad news work in an election year. In 1983 the Socreds were on the ropes and Dave Barrett's NDP were entering the election ring, slavering for the chance to claw them.

On the eve of the election, Bennett announced that "restraint" would be the byword. Government would be cut back so as to best deal with the recession we were in with its attendant inflated interest rates. When the whistle blew, Bennett stayed right on message -- "restraint" meaning lower interest rates and more jobs in the private sector. (There wasn't much need to curry favour with the public sector since they mostly voted NDP and most lived in a couple of ridings in Victoria.

"Restraint" as a word caught on especially since no one had the faintest idea of what Bennett had in mind. Dave Barrett, on TV, criticized the notion of "restraint" and that probably cost him the election that went to the Socreds by a handsome margin.

The belated bottom line

Within a couple of weeks of the victory Bennett announced the massive restraints that were now to become policy. To a person, people said "God, I didn't realize that's what the Socreds meant!" A province-wide strike was called; protesters fill Empire Stadium; for awhile it looked as if we might have bloodshed.

The bottom line was that Bennett won an election on a platform that people assumed would only hurt the "fat cat" civil servants and that was long overdue. It wasn't until after the election it was learned what Bennett really had in mind.

The autocrat, on the other hand, announced his energy plan with a year to go before the next election, giving opposition time to get its act together. The plan, in theory, was great but in fact was lousy to most voters, especially the ones who live outside Metro Vancouver and Victoria.

Just when the oil companies are piling it on is not the best time to do a bit of piling on yourself.

The anticipation of an energy plan like the notion of "restraint" can win elections; the reality of an energy plan that smacks every pocketbook in the province could be a big loser.

If Gordon Campbell, who too often behaves like an autocrat, had studied his electoral history, he might have done differently. Unless, of course, he really is a high-minded statesman without a moment's thought for politics after all.

Secondly, a note to Tiger Woods

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Tiger Woods is done for the year, but not without one last major that he said might have been his best ever.

Woods explained why Wednesday when he revealed he will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee that he injured 10 months ago.

He also suffered a double stress fracture of his left tibia two weeks before the U.S. Open, ignoring doctors' advice to take six weeks off to let it heal. And he still won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, going 91 holes over five days on a knee that was getting worse.

Dear Tiger Woods,

This is your aging hero worshipper, Rafe Mair, here. I'm a fan of yours big time and when you don't win a tournament, especially a major, I die a little. It's as if I lost it myself -- no, it's worse than that.

Don't come back too soon, Tiger. If you never came back, the record will note that you are the best golfer the world has ever seen.

The recent U.S. Open had something for everyone. You'll forgive me for observing that everyone admired Rocco Mediate and, until you won, many Tiger fans were cheering him on.

Your victory was magnificent. No one doubted that you were in a lot of pain and didn't even have your B game much less you're a game. Now we know just how bad it was. It was a show of courage no one will forget. But Tiger, you have to meditate on where you are, for time you have plenty of.

Ben Hogan -- the Great Ben Hogan who won four U.S. Opens, didn't win his first until he was 36! Jack Nicklaus, the great Jack Nicklaus won nine majors after the age of 32, your present age. Tiger, subject to the frailties we all labour under, you have lots of time to move past Jack Nicklaus's 18 wins in major tournaments. Moreover, if you never hit a golf ball again, none could deny that you are the best golfer who ever lived, Nicklaus or no Nicklaus, Hogan or no Hogan.

'Tiger is our tour'

In Nicklaus's day, the fields were nowhere near as strong as they are today. He was in the top 10 many more times than you've been or ever will be simply because the overall fields were much weaker. There was no European or Asian tour in those days. As I write this, six of the top 10 golfers in the world come from outside the United States.

Look what you've accomplished, Tiger. You've changed the face of golf. No longer can an overweight slob of my proportions seriously contend. You have, as they say, raised the bar. Moreover, your fellow competitors have benefited enormously. "Tiger is our tour," pro Kenny Perry said from the Travelers Championship. "When you lose your star player, it definitely hurts."

And then there's the money. At this writing, at about the half way mark of the season, 51 golfers have already made over a million dollars and the next nine have made over $900,000! That doesn't even include the Fedex bonus which adds another $35 million bonus to the pot. This, Tiger, is your doing and your brother competitors know that.

I hate the thought that you won't be playing the PGA or the British Open -- my favourite because I've played most of the courses used. Your big challenge, which is the same for all us wonky-kneed folks, will be to get enough exercise. But no one doubts that, when you return, you'll be lean and mean and ready for your best years of your golf -- the next decade when you'll fly past Nicklaus.

Be patient, Tiger. Come back when you're ready.

Sincerely, Rafe ... and millions of others all over the world.

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