Shaking hands and kissing babies is as much a part of an election campaign as empty promises and attack ads.
According to the U.S. publication Mother Jones, the first documented instance of a politician kissing a baby dates back to 1833, when U.S. president Andrew Jackson was handed an infant on a tour of the Eastern states.
Since then, politicians of every stripe have nuzzled – or even bottle-fed – a newborn in the hopes of soliciting votes.
Prime minister Stephen Harper, though, has brought the baby-holding photo op (presumably kicking and screaming) into the digital age, while at the same time becoming the first Canadian party leader to post an Instagram ad.
Posted this week, the ad shows Harper and his wife Laureen holding the infants, while the accompanying text reads “Laureen and I know that childcare decisions are best left with the real experts, mom and dad.”
With a new poll suggesting the NDP could form a majority government in the upcoming election, perhaps Mr. Harper should seek out octuplets for future photo opps.
