Cheerful Charlie
Contributor
https://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/mercer.asp
Origins: Comedian Rick Mercer is well known to most Canadians as one of the original stars of “This Hour Has 22 Minutes,” a satirical news program aired by CBC television. Among the program’s highlights were Mercer’s editorial rants and his
“Talking to Americans“ feature, in which he skewered American pretensions by posing questions about Canadian politics and geography to folks from the U.S. to reveal how little Americans really know about their northern neighbors. Mercer also made U.S. news in February 2000 when he intercepted Texas Governor George W. Bush on the presidential campaign trail in Michigan and asked the Governor to comment on his endorsement by Canadian Prime Minister “Jean Poutine.” Governor Bush responded that he was honored by the endorsement, apparently not recognizing “poutine” as the name of a French-Canadian concoction of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds. (Canada’s Prime Minister is Jean Chretien.)
Origins: Comedian Rick Mercer is well known to most Canadians as one of the original stars of “This Hour Has 22 Minutes,” a satirical news program aired by CBC television. Among the program’s highlights were Mercer’s editorial rants and his
“Talking to Americans“ feature, in which he skewered American pretensions by posing questions about Canadian politics and geography to folks from the U.S. to reveal how little Americans really know about their northern neighbors. Mercer also made U.S. news in February 2000 when he intercepted Texas Governor George W. Bush on the presidential campaign trail in Michigan and asked the Governor to comment on his endorsement by Canadian Prime Minister “Jean Poutine.” Governor Bush responded that he was honored by the endorsement, apparently not recognizing “poutine” as the name of a French-Canadian concoction of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds. (Canada’s Prime Minister is Jean Chretien.)