Saturday, September 20, 2008

Too late to burn the negatives or hit delete, Conservatives hope to change the focus of those infamous candid shots of Sharon Smith


Those Google hits will surely be on the rise once again, now that the national media has suddenly rediscovered Conservative candidate Sharon Smith’s more candid portrait on the Internet.

As residents of Skeena-Bulkley Valley are more than aware, the flattering or unflattering(depending on your political perspective and personal interests we guess) snapshot of Ms. Smith featuring her chain of office as Mayor of Houston on and not much else, made the rounds of the British tabloids and other sensational websites five years ago.

The picture was discovered on the Smith’s home computer by over investigative teens, who apparently spent the night searching the Smith's computer during a house party held if we remember correctly, while Mrs. Smith was out of town.

It proved to be a wee bit of a controversy during the day in Houston and was certainly an Internet sensation, with no shortage of alterations and captions provided over the numerous portals that tracked it down.

And now as they say, everything old is new again.

However, it seems that this is one media inquiry that didn’t catch the Conservatives by surprise, Kory Teneycke, a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper outline on Saturday that the party and Prime Minister knew about the photos existence and it would seem haven’t given much thought since.
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Smith was described by Teneycke as a very good candidate and the sudden resurgence in interest won’t be affecting her campaign, or the Conservatives intention to keep her on the roster as their candidate.

Which is the way it should be, she certainly broke no laws, though perhaps exhibited (oops sorry), a certain lack of foresight in her future political plans.
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We’re pretty sure if she had been thinking down the line of an attempt for federal office back in 2003, she most likely wouldn’t have had the pictures taken, or at least would have invested in a DVD burner to keep them off her hard drive.

As it is, it will be between the people of Skeena - Bulkley Valley to decide her merits for office, we’re pretty sure that most of us are more than mature enough to deal with her positions on the issues and whether she would make the best choice as our MP in Ottawa.

However, should she prove victorious on October 14th and defeat incumbent Nathan Cullen of the NDP and her three other competitors for the riding (all apparently less photogenic or at least with better password protection), she had best be prepared for more exposure.

As quick as you can click on the keyboard you are using today, her name and accompanying photos both featuring clothes or not, will surely become an Internet sensation all over again, with no shortage of double entendres to go along with whatever position she may take in Parliament…

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