harper the mimic of bush ...

Canadians bless PM's sign-off
CanWest News Service, April 25, 2006

...The term has drawn comparisons between Harper and U.S. President George W. Bush, who regularly ends speaking engagements with God bless America.

Canadians bless PM's sign-off
CanWest News Service, Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Most Canadians are accepting of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's religious sign-off -- "God bless Canada" -- at the end of speeches, a new poll has found.

According to an Ipsos-Reid survey conducted for CanWest News Service/Global National, 65 per cent of Canadians indicated it was an acceptable term and that he should keep using it.

The poll of 1,000 people was conducted April 18-20 and is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times in 20.

One in four felt mixing the mini-prayer with political speeches was the wrong way to go.

Although Harper has been using the God bless Canada sign-off for some time, it has become a source of controversy since he was elected prime minister early this year.

Media pundits and letter-writing citizens have, at times, flooded editorial pages with strong denunciations and passionate words of support.

The term has drawn comparisons between Harper and U.S. President George W. Bush, who regularly ends speaking engagements with God bless America.