Margaret Kemper (Trudeau)

[Rhianon]

Okay, what the heck? I really don't care what this woman thinks. Since she was Mrs. Trudeau she was Mrs. Kemper and had two kids. I wonder what they think of the latest developments? Why is the CBC giving her so much air time?

[Tabby]

I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about. Was their something in particular that set you off? All I've seen is that photo and a couple of articles on her life as the prime minister's wife and how the media hounded her in those days. She was quite the character then (and still is). I can remember when PET died - one of the days when he was being held in state (or whatever it is they call it with the public visitation), an extremely insensitive reporter reminded her that it was the anniversary of her son's death (Michel). She broke down in tears and Justin pulled her away. They really were terrible to her.

[CanadianTrotter]

Maybe because she is a woman with a mental illness that was the wife of a very great man and helped raise her children to be productive members of society?

[Chisamba]

it is interesting that after his death Trudeau seems to be held in higher esteem than he did alive. as i remember it, and my memory is of course based somewhat on media, since i was a long way from canada at the time, He dumped barbara striesand to marry a bipolar woman who was thirty years younger than him, and whose first child was born nine months later, ( the press counted ) anyway, despite having three kids its seems from all that the marriage was not compatible, it must have been somewhat difficult for a woman with bipolar disorder, much younger, to be so in the limelight, but i remember disliking her in the same way i dislike the Kardasians, its more disliking the image of the, since i do not actually know any of them.

[CanadianTrotter]

it is interesting that after his death Trudeau seems to be held in higher esteem than he did alive.

That's like saying JFK was held in greater esteem after he was killed or Princess Diana was more loved after she passed.

I guess for those who only know about someone through the media it could be true.

[Tabby]

I was a kid at the time but I do remember Maggie and PET (and even the kids as my mom was a Liberal party member and got Christmas cards with the family photo). Maggie was always in the news. It was rumoured she had an affair with Kieth Richards and that he fathered at least one of their kids. She was very much a flower child. My dad liked her a lot - my mom not so much. PET was fairly eccentric himself with his pirouettes and flipping the bird and all that. They certainly carried much more stardom than any PM we've had since. Actually, I know very little about the families of other PMs. I didn't know Mulroney even had kids until Ben hosted Canadian Idol (and I still don't know if he as siblings or not). Somebody interviewed Joe Clark's wife recently - I didn't know he was married (no idea about kids either). But I knew PET and Maggie's kids' names when I was a child and I know Justin's family now. Weird, eh?

[Rhianon]

LOL I guess my post did come across as a bit mean-spirited! I expect I'm reacting as much to what I see as a trend toward "tabloidization" at the CBC as anything. For several days there every time I logged on there was something else--in-depth discussion, photo essay, her opinion on the residence. I am just so hoping we can settle down to the serious business of fixing our damaged country.

[Rhianon]

Oh, and I quite admired Maureen McTeer. It was a big deal at the time that she kept her own name.

[Tabby]

LOL - I've been curious about CBC "tabloidization" as well lately (I love that word by the way!). I know that Harper replaced the Board of Directors with a bunch of his supporters a while back. Plus he was continually cutting the funding - I think he was trying to set it up for privatization in the same manner as Canada Post. I suspect the actual journalists and staff weren't happy with the direction it was taking. There were a few articles before the election that suggested that the writers' views differed from their employer's views. But they are practically falling over themselves since the JT majority. We had Trudeaumania before so why not again. It may settle down after a few months. I hope.

[Pippigirl]

it is interesting that after his death Trudeau seems to be held in higher esteem than he did alive.

That's like saying JFK was held in greater esteem after he was killed or Princess Diana was more loved after she passed.

I guess for those who only know about someone through the media it could be true.

Unless more people are coming out in favour of PET after he passed away. When growing up I would hear a lot of negative talk about him but not so much after he passed away.

[CanadianTrotter]

it is interesting that after his death Trudeau seems to be held in higher esteem than he did alive.

That's like saying JFK was held in greater esteem after he was killed or Princess Diana was more loved after she passed.

I guess for those who only know about someone through the media it could be true.

Unless more people are coming out in favour of PET after he passed away. When growing up I would hear a lot of negative talk about him but not so much after he passed away.

If they are/did it would only be because they realized what a great PM he was when faced with his replacements.

Negative talk happens with and about any person in power... it's a given.

He was one of if not the best PM Canada has ever had... the majority of Canada agrees with this. He was an extremely intelligent man, he loved to live and laugh and he loved a challenge. I remember seeing a picture of him having a race with a much younger Bill Clinton during a personal visit. It showed Trudeau not only winning the race but leaving Clinton way behind and then scaling a large concrete railing. I've tried to find the picture, but can't.

[Tabby]

Actually, PET was fairly polarizing. While easterners loved him, people in the west, particularly Alberta, absolutely loathed him for the National Energy Program, oil taxes and Petro-Can. They felt as though they'd been sold down the river. Even today there are very few liberal seats in that province owing mostly to their disdain for PET.

Aside from that, he was very popular in the rest of Canada and, from what I can tell, the whole world. His funeral attracted dignitaries from all kinds of different countries including many that were in various forms of opposition with each other. Most notably, Fidel Castro sat right next to former US President Jimmy Carter and even shook hands. Trudeau was a powerful character even in death.