Stephen Harper’s naughty joke reveals that his humour software is working well

Stephen Harper’s naughty joke reveals that his humour software is working well

Stephen Harper: smile 2.0 (Image: Robert Thivierge)

The slow drip of revelations from the memoirs of former U.S. president George W. Bush continues as we get closer to the release of his book, Decision Points. So far, we’ve learned that he considered dropping Dick Cheney from the GOP ticket in 2004 because of the perception that the VP ate kittens was really in charge of the White House; and that the worst moment of his presidency was when Kanye West said he doesn’t care about black people (does that warrant a “Mission Accomplished” banner?); and now this nugget, courtesy of the Ottawa Citizen, shows that Stephen Harper might have actually showed a sense of humour to go with his singing voice:

Bush says he had introduced then-Russian president [Vladimir] Putin to his Scottish terrier, Barney, on a visit to the U.S. presidential retreat, Camp David.

Putin returned the favour when Bush visited Russia and Putin was giving him a tour of the grounds of his dacha. “A big black Labrador came charging across the lawn. With a twinkle in his eye, Vladimir said, ‘Bigger, stronger, faster than Barney,'” Bush writes.

Bush says he later told the story to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who replied: “You’re lucky he only showed you his dog.”

Either the PM had a software malfunction or he actually made a joke—and a pretty decent attempt at locker room humour at that. It almost makes us wonder what the cabinet meetings must be like. Do the ladies have to step in to stop Harper, Tony Clement and Chuck Strahl from having belching contests?

• Harper gets last word in superpower dogfight [Ottawa Citizen]