Yes, Prime Minister

Last evening, I was watching my political shows hosted by Newman and Duffy as per usual and could not help but be bothered by how people referred to the Prime Minister.

Conservative Pundits! Erase from your vocabulary the words 'Stephen' and 'Harper'. Pundits should only make reference to the Prime Minister, as in, "The Prime Minister had two eggs over easy for breakfast this morning." I don't care if they have to change his birth certificate, from here on out, he is the Prime Minister - use the title associated with the office he holds.

Although I don't have any evidence to back up this argument, Canadians are much less likely to disagree with the 'Prime Minister' rather than 'Stephen Harper'. The public generally holds the office, and he person who holds it, in high esteem. If you were to poll on a question using the two different names ("Do you believe X should introduce measures to reduce crime?"), you would get two dramatically different responses. The more Canadians see Stephen Harper as Prime Minister, the more likely they will support him.

The PMO Press Office should have a dedicated person responsible for following up with every journalist who doesn't refer to the 'Prime Minister' in their story. It doesn't have to be a threatening call, just a friendly call or e-mail to remind the journalist of the proper title associated with the office of Prime Minister.