He is the best. I bet some of those liberal musicains behind him were just going nuts inside. To think that a mere conservative can actually play the piano and sing.

This is great! Brings the PM even closer to the "every" man...because who doesn't identify with that Beatles tune?

This does more for the PM than an election could.

Kudos to Harper!

What a good sport! That goes, of course, for Yo-Yo Ma, as well. I hope that they raised a lot of money and that it's spent well.

Another plus out of this performance; there will be no accusations of lip-synching.

Cross posted at Reader Tips @ 8:57 a.m.:

What's more amazing over at the TorStar's article on Prime Minister Stephen Harper's party trick are the comments, pretty much all positive. Example:

"We haven't heard of any spending scandals, under the table deals, throwing away taxpayers money during his terms, no wonder the Liberals want to oust him. Nice to see the playful side of him, although I am not a big fan, I thought he has carried himself quite well."

The gala, with Larueen Harper as the Honourary Chairman (forget Chair"person" 'cause you'll have to change it to Chairper"daughter"), raised over $575,000. Kudos to her too!

Posted by: batb at October 4, 2009 8:57 AM

Good stuff!

An interesting story about dedication

"This fascination manifested itself early in Mr. Harper's childhood, although he can't remember how he came to choose the piano. “For the first half year I was in lessons, we didn't have a piano and I would actually practice for my lessons on a cardboard keyboard, so I would only hear it for the first time when I actually sat down and had the lessons,” he said."

Ignegative. "If....if.... you play the song backwards, you...... will....... hear.....
the secret agenda"!!!!!

A nice surprise on the CTV late news. Bravo Stephen Harper !

As someone who has followed SH almost form the beginning of his political career I have to say I am amazed, pleased and proud. SH was a deeply introverted person and still is a very private man. But he is also an expressive person who has ideas and opinions he feels he has to get out to a larger audience. I remember the first time i met him - he was almost painfully shy one on one yet it was the start of his campaign for CRA leader. Over the years I have seen him grow more and more confident in public settings - making small talk with party members, telling jokes on and off stage with a surprisingly good delivery. And now last night's performance. I bet those close to him are delighted and I suspect Laureen has has a huge role in his growth. And he seems to get better and better (compared to the static and perhaps decaying Iggy).

Yes, that's all very well and good. But can Mr Harper do the Iggy Quebec Two-Step? You know, getting Iggidy with it.

Watched this when I got home last night. I had heard that he is quite an amazing pianist. It was nice to see PM Harper, relaxed, smiling and enjoying himself. Sometimes, people get put in these positions and it backfires, not our PM. He did his wife and our country proud last night. If the people of Canada give themselves a chance to get to know him, we will have a majority in the next election. Two thumbs up PM Harper. Would like to see more of the piano playing!

lol loved it. A PM with his own style - no hamming and mugging for the camera - no Paul Martin air guitar solo. Would have been perfect if he capped it with an encore of 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds' tho.

what Iggys been practicing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjIyFpRuIgk&feature=related

Certainly shows a different side of the PM. Good to see.
I don't know how it shows up on everyone else's monitor, but his color looks terrible. He has to get out of the office a bit more.

"...play the piano and sing."
if u say so,

u think he really "get's high with his friends"?

he does sound allot like Ringo though, not that that qualifies as singing.

I'll probably still vote for his way though.

Curious btw about your blog and completely off topic, anyone looking to say "investigate" a national or international what I'd call "crime"? Might look into "HPV" and the absolute cover-up that has been going on behind suppressing the public's knowlege of this by groups such as "planned parenthood". This is a worldwide pandemic that average Joe or Jill is completely ignorant of. Only "3% of infected people even know that they are infected" with HPV. Sorry to bring this up here but this is really crazy stuff, i just found out I have this and almost certain I got it from my doctor via colonoscopy.
i'll not go in to the details here at least.

Yeah Mr. Harper!

Congrats on a great performance and even more so on the song choice! I expect it was chosen with some thought towards the political happenings these past few weeks.

I like our Prime Minister. I like that he's "normal"...that he doesn't try to outshine anyone...even last night both during and after his performance he "bowed" out gracefully. His modesty is admirable.

Great job!

Harper demonstrates the ability which people can improve themselves with effort. Good job.

Very cool. Very brave as well. When you get up and perform in front of people you open yourself up to all kinds of criticism. You know the opposition was praying for a screw up they could use. If he'd of hit one bad note CBC would have played it on and endless loop until the next election.

This is good that PSH shows a more colourful side...there is a necessary disconnect in his position---everything is an invasion of privacy---
This does much to emphasize Igula's colourless, humourless image.
Blank I sympathize---even as a male---that has got to be traumatic.
I'm not a hypochondriac but I have had to avail myself of the ER too often lately.
I carry a packet sized "hand sanitizer"....and when I challenged the ER doc by offering it to him when he arrived---his reaction was to avail himself of the nearby sanitizer station.
When the nurse arrived---he directed her to top up my little bottle---as he said--you must be using it---it's only 1/3 full.
Then he confided that on reflection, that although he did the hand thingy often it likely was not enough given his work environment.
Wadda ya do???
Use hand sanitizer---avoid door handles---DON'T TOUCH PEOPLE----we don't know where they've been do we?

Well I would say that it has been the most dynamic I've seen a PM. Not only that he could carry a tune and play the piano but PMSH added the comedy as well. Eat it up 'Jack'!! and play the blues on your 'guitar' and keep supporting our very good 'PMSH'.

The question is, does Iggy play guitar, jammin' good with Jack and Gilly?

Well, at least I thought that was funny

my take on this?

iggy is strictly the one hit wonder now for sure.

Now I sure as hell didn’t expect that, good on you, he really is one of us.

What a huge difference between Harper and that arrogant academic asshole Iggy. What a huge difference. Shifty eyed Iggy, watch him, he always looks like he is looking for a way out after stealing some ones purse.

I hear Iggy is now out there trying to find a reliable supplier of Liberal red sweater-vests...

Good on you, Mr. Harper. Well done!

Batb @10:19, the proper PC term would be chairperchild. (The LLLeft will accentuate the feminine over the masculine, the 'vrai souche' PC will follow strict gender neutrality, real Conservatives don't give a $#!^, they'll just call it like it is.)

Now for a liberal view of Harper's little jam.

That was a cruel display of elite conservatism when you consider all the poor children who will never have the money or opportunity to get piano lessons.

Until everyone can get piano lessons we should ban pianos.

Sound about right?

Bob Rae also plays piano, I guess that makes him a shoo-in to replace Ignatieff.

STEVIES THE MAN

He practiced on a cardboard keyboard!!! I did too, but not because we didn't have a piano, but because I was taking group lessons from our school and the other kids in the group didn't so our instructor was very clear on this - we were to practice only on the silent keyboard so that everyone would be equal (clearly that teacher was an NDP supporter!). I think there is a family picture of me practicing on the silent keyboard next to the family piano!!

Man, that took guts. Good on him.
Most fascinating was looking through the comments at cbc.ca. Of course their article desperately tried to find a negative, politicised way to spin it at the end, and there were a handful of mean, small people with the usual bitter commentry and conspiracy theories. But quite a number of people, obviously lefties, who give him full marks. That might be the ultimate barometer of success doing an apolitical event like this.

piano lessons, $2000.
showing an "I am everyman" side to Stephen Harper, priceless.

Soooo, THAT is the 'hidden agenda' Paul Martin was always fear mongering about !!??

Isn't funny how small things can make large changed
in perception.
This I believe will go along way to change the public's perception of SH as a cold fish.

Igy's favourite Beatles tune?
'Taxman'.
Yeah, Yeah, I'm your taxman, yeah.

Now, compare that to a 'head banging', 'slack-ass' piece by 'shi! for brains'.

Iggy was just asked what he thought of PMSH's performance last night. He replied,"He was out of tune and he has been out of tune for four years". I pity the man (Ignatieff),it must be terribly depressing to live such a joyless life.

Sounds better than S*it From Hell.

blanks: "Curious btw about your blog and completely off topic, anyone looking to say 'investigate' a national or international what I'd call 'crime'? Might look into 'HPV' and the absolute cover-up that has been going on behind suppressing the public's knowlege [sic] of this by groups such as "'planned parenthood'".

You know what, blanks? I've brought it up many times in the past few years -- and brought it up at my kids' public school almost 20 years ago -- and most people don't want to face up to it, even though HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) is THE number-one cause of cervical cancer and there's an epidemic of cervical cancer in our society WHICH KILLS WOMEN IF NOT DIAGNOSED AND TREATED.

This topic shouldn't be off topic, but too often is. I suggest that you follow the money to see who's getting rich off the silence surrounding this STD: pharmeceutical companies, that's who, and all those who invest in them.

Our Prime Minister is so cool. First he leads the way in the UN then on the stage.

We are Lucky to have him as our leader!

Keep an eye on it, blanks, have regular checkups every few months -- insist on it. There are lots of medical interventions that can curtail the symptoms and halt its spread and any damage it can do.

Good on PMSH. He probably would be the first to tell us, that like Habanero sauce, doing a lot of this is unwise.

But a great way to counter the tired MSM canard that he is an emotionless automaton.

I apologize, I just went to your DMB link and Harper sounds way better than Ringo.

which still aint say'n a whole lot

Wasn't Iggy making some important speech today in quebec? Oh well, who cares anyways, let me see Harper singing again!

Courage. Skill. Ability. Sense of humour. Willingness to actually help others rather than just talk about it. No wonder the Liberals hate him and the NDP fear him.

Heres the still shot of when PAul Martin picked up a guitar. Wish I could find the video.

http://www.thecanadianpress.com/services_for_cp_member_newspapers.aspx?id=170

I wonder if Laureen Harper grew up in small town Alberta. It used to be a tradition in the small Alberta town I grew up in for a 'celebrity' to do something unusual during a community fund raiser.

When least expected the high school principal would get up and play the violin or the mayor would get up and sing a song much to the surprise of everyone who didn't realize the principal could play the violin or that the mayor could sing.

I really don't care if this helps PM Harper politically, Its nice to see that small town Alberta tradition shock and amaze Upper Canada's elite.

Bravo, Mr. Harper!

"WHICH KILLS WOMEN IF NOT DIAGNOSED AND TREATED"
do u have to yell
lets not go into this here, I just found about this and it can "KILL" anyone that get's it btw if it's not properly treated.
The cover-up is the real crime btw, this disease doesn't even have to be reported by physicians. It's been an epidemic for ten years and I just found I'm now a carrier, stay back 5' metres it's "highly contagious". Only 3% of carriers even know they have it. May be Kate or someone can do a little "expose" or something. I know this blog actually gets read, ok.

This hasn't changed my opinion of PM Harper one iota. I always knew he was a great guy!
He's serious about serious stuff, as he should be. And private in his life, as he should be.
It's a pleasure to see the response of some who didn't realize what a humorous and friendly man he actually is.

I appreciate Steven Harper in a whole new way after seeing this performance. I have always admired him as a politician and thinker, and I am now, in addition, impressed with the remarkable degree to which he has refrained from exhibiting or exploiting for political gain such aspects of his personality as he considers private and not for public consumption.

How very decent and quintessentially Canadian and shockingly un-politician-like to hide any of one's light, let alone so accessible and appealing an aspect of one's light, under a bushel, as Harper has traditionally done and will no doubt return to doing. One certainly can't accuse him of cynically exploiting his personal charm - and he is charming, undeniably, as we see here - or using it to manipulate public perception for political gain.

For him, the job is about the job, and he doesn't insult Canadians by treating politics like a high school popularity contest. Focus is on the facts, and on what's real, and on what's relevant. I like that. It's a spin-and-dissimulation-free approach. Old-school engineering versus marketing and PR. You can argue that a politician should fully leverage every possible edge and advantage at all times, but you'd be wrong. There will always be a place in public life for men of integrity, dignity, restraint and comportment.

The fact that Harper stepped outside the frame to support his wife's charity, and did so with a performance in which he displayed a singular combination of talent and wit and an enviable degree of unstudied personal cool, makes it all the more delightful. Serious entity, this guy. Actually, for real, more to him than meets the eye, rather than less.

I'll bet he practiced for this.

Practice time paid for by the taxpayer!!!

Time he could have spent leading trade missions to China or India.

Or saving lives of abandoned children on reservations.

Or trying to understand Quebec political culture.

Instead he was practicing piano and ringing (singing like Ringo).

Onya, Mate!

Mr. PM, don't give up your day job!

I wonder if this will swing a few limp-wrist votes his way?

Mr. PM, don't give up your day job!

I'll bet he practiced for this.
Practice time paid for by the taxpayer!!!
Time he could have spent leading trade missions to China or India.
Or saving lives of abandoned children on reservations.
Or trying to understand Quebec political culture.
Instead he was practicing piano and ringing (singing like Ringo).
Onya, Mate!

Weak .

How many guys get Yo-Yo Mah to play bass in a pick up band? A good time had by all for a good cause. Sounds good to me.

Contrast Harper to Layton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl0Mk1idNXg

Is Iggy next to show us his pipes?

It's a total waste of taxpayer money! Harper playing like a jackass and sucking up to the snobs. Why isn't Harper busy saving Canada from GlobalWarming?

Above..^ Why aren't you?

A touch pedantic perhaps but..it's PM Stephen Harper, not 'Steve' ok?

I liked the performance as well.

'Why isn't Harper busy saving Canada from GlobalWarming?'

cuzz Santa Clause needs a second job due to this Liberal's economy

Nobody is going to save Canada or anywhere else from global warming not even David Suzuki. It's here and it's probably even queer.

Look for this to appear on one or several of the American TV stations, and probably overseas too. The presence of Yo-Yo Ma on stage will encourage this, but news people outside of the country will be very surprised by the quality (relatively speaking) of the performance.

P.M. Harper has gone and made me proud of him for a second time, this month. This was great. Maybe Jack Layton will play in his band for awhile as he purportedly plays guitar.

The pre newcast blurbs on Global TO this afternoon really took the cake: "PM Stephen Harper, who drastically cut arts funding a little over a year ago, last night on the stage of the ............................" intoned the news dolly.

I shall follow their bankruptcy soap opera with interest just to find out which fabulous members of their staff move to top positions elsewhere and which sink without a trace..

THAT...just got Harper a majority government!

I suspect Iggy will now show up playing a kazoo in downtown Calgary.

Bill - What part of "onya" do Canadians not understand.

Iggy or Rae on our TV's playing music in 3, 2, ....

Guaran-friken-teed.

Go Prime Minister Steve !

We need to help these animals for it the responsibility to take care them.. Hope that all of us will make a response on this call.

I read the G&M comments: they were surprisingly balanced. Hmmm, are leftists starting to like the man?

Iggy's response was notably childish.

_http://tinyurl.com/y9rfc6a

The National Post coverage of the charity event does a fine job of demonstrating the exciting synergy of their new fusion with the CBC.

Their headline & story look like they could have been authored in the cramped confines of a Liberal HQ men's room stall.

If I was PM Harper
and allow nonMuslim with no justice
torture Muslim and steal their busienss in Canada

I will sing the song too

that is his turn to be happy
Harper govement and judges are all happy now

as long as Loblaw steal Muslim owned company and they are not gain any profit they must happy

put all Muslim Canadian to escape and leave Canada and back to thier home and where they come from as Harper fans keep telling Muslim now??!!

Mr. Harper we want our stolen halal business back to us by Loblaw companies and Wendy Earle and Michael Kimber
can you order to do that???

http://rjjago.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/who-are-canadas-most-important-progressive-muslims/comment-page-1/#comment-11656

what is difference between progressive and conservative ?

find it by search engine in google

How people see each group and problems and find solution
This solution can come from different roads
But they all meet the same goals
I am mix of all reasonable class of politic
This can be come time progressive and/ or conservative eyes to see the problems
my main problems recently is that to how to address those issue is important for society to get fix and this is not personal attack to any individual unless the person did so much illegal and continue proudly doing so
Some time politic can turn the problems in different language to respond it and resolve it as judge can not or regular public can not
That is my voice
So many smart people are working in Canada but do they all act with full wisdom and reaction of that action is also under question
how much can buy some one or group can be money can be power can be what he wish for and can be sex and join of all or can be only fix their problem and they go away soon
Muslim Canadian who live here so long since 2006 are facing so much trouble this must be stop immediately all is because of misinformed by mismanaged government and lack of justice allow some theft to do what they want freely
Harper government must solve past issue soon

Harper Government is only minority government who are fighting Muslim Canadian Minority since 2006 who only are less than 10% of population in Canada and /or allowed this happend "With a Little Help from My Friends" it means Loblaw conservative employees helped him and few jduge freind and copsss perhapss sorry this is gross!!
when we suffer daily he be happy

He is not able to stop discrimination open widly in Canada we can see may be he got bad advice from his wife from West of Canada never met Muslim women too????

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Monday he would stick to his day job after interrupting a charity gala starring acclaimed cellist Yo Yo Ma on the weekend with a piano and voice rendition of a Beatles song.
In an apparent effort to soften his wooden image, Harper's wife, Laureen, convinced the prime minister to participate in a fund-raiser for young artists at Ottawa's National Arts Center, and persuaded organizers to let him appear as a surprise act.

With a little help from Yo Yo Ma on the cello, he sang "With a Little Help from My Friends" while accompanying himself on the piano. He won a standing ovation.

"Saturday night was my wife's idea. Her advice now is, 'Quit while you're ahead,'" Harper said on Monday morning.

There was some irony in Harper's appearance in Saturday night's event and in his choice of music. During his reelection campaign a year ago he had assailed red-carpet galas as events where elite artists complain that their federal subsidies are not high enough.

And though he sang the line, "Ooh, I get high with a little help from my friends," he has made a crackdown on drugs and crime a policy centerpiece. (Harper spokesman Andrew MacDougall said, tongue in cheek, that the prime minister must have meant "high on adrenaline.")

Also, the lyrics about getting "a little help" accurately, though perhaps inadvertently, reflect the fact that Harper's minority Conservative government was kept alive in a parliamentary confidence vote last week by the unlikely support of the left-leaning New Democratic Party.

(Reporting by Randall Palmer; editing by Peter Galloway)

Ahh, new. There's not much goes by that escapes you, is there?

mhb23re
at gmail d0t calm