Posted on 02/19/2009 7:02:18 AM PST by Loyalist
OTTAWA—Twice in less than a decade we have all been Americans. Once was on 9/11, the other is today.
There's more to our conversion than Canadian rapture over a new U.S. president. Barack Obama's visit is a second transformational moment steeped in crisis. By endorsing shared solutions to common threats, he is recreating the opportunity George W. Bush missed.
Eight years ago in September, Al Qaeda made a sympathetic victim of the superpower much of the world demonizes. In downing the twin symbols of global financial dominance, Osama bin Laden handed Bush moral authority and plausible justification for the muscular export of U.S. values and interests.
Current reality measures how horribly that went wrong. Toppling the Taliban morphed into overthrowing Saddam Hussein. The War on Terror became an assault on fundamental rights that framed American independence. Fear thickened our famously unguarded border. Finally, greed and blind faith in unfettered markets did to the world economic order what Al Qaeda couldn't.
Obama has chosen Canada as a fitting place to press the reset button. This country remains a global model – multicultural, internationally collegial, fiscally prudent, politically stable.
So this close, comfortable corner of the international stage is a safe and sound choice for an initial foreign trip a mere month after an historic inauguration.
What better place than Canada to publicly consider the communal effort required to rescue symbiotic economies, the linkages between energy security and climate change or a renewed NATO response to the deteriorating Afghanistan mission? Who better to talk to first than Canadians who feel U.S. pain personally, who have been made Americans by America's financial collapse?
Whether or not the world overhears, conversations are always important when they're between neighbours who share a continent, a $600 billion annual trading partnership and a troubled military mission.
But it's essential to remember that what's changing is the U.S. approach to Canada, the appealing tone and familiar thinking, not the relationship. Our capillary cross-border connections are still configured by what America wants – energy now, water later and always security – and what Canada needs – sustaining economic access and a little sovereign respect.
As it was with Bush, it will be with Obama. Washington pursues its hegemony with admirably relentless vigour; Ottawa reacts to the best of its limited ability.
That dynamic is reinforced by the urgency and complexity of the U.S. predicament. How this federal government copes with that pressure is the subtext of this fly-by summit.
Obama isn't just more popular here than the Prime Minister; he's also more focused than any recent president. In 10 informed, graceful pre-visit minutes with the CBC, Obama presented an agenda with profound Canadian implications. Protectionist conditions attached to the $800 billion U.S. stimulus are subject to the same trade rules that made softwood lumber a losing Canadian battle. Alberta's dirty oil can be accommodated in a continental energy and environment policy that includes dirty American coal. Afghanistan is a work in progress that creates time for Parliament to reconsider its 2011 end-combat deadline.
For better or for worse, willingly or by necessity, all of that makes Americans of us all. Obama's ambiguous gift is making the metamorphosis seem so innocuous, so sensibly obvious, so, well, Canadian.
James Travers' column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
“Obama makes Americans of us all”
But I thought we were all Socialists now?
Obama has chosen Canada as a fitting place to press the reset button. This country remains a global model – multicultural, internationally collegial, fiscally prudent, politically stable.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Yes Canada is that way thanks to conservatism, not hanks to the Socialist fascism that the Obama movement represents.
Canada needs to be careful, or it will succumb to the neocolonial fascist movement that Obama represents for its allies.
Look at Obamas activty as a Senator in Kenya in 2006-2007 in campaigning for Odinga. He brought natuionalist black ower polotics to Kenya , neo colonial approach which resulted in innter tribal warefare and genocide in Kenya.
These are the lights of the Obamanation. And its disconcerting to see Canadians sucking on the extended Obama neo-colonial phallus, thinking its a lollipop.How dumb can you get?
Talk about blind naivete!
Canada need sto continue to develope its Tar Sands as a dorect competetive product to the oild pupmped by Obamas Arab friends, whose load he is toating before Canadians to disempower Canada’s oil industry. Neo colonialism, the Arabs colonze the West.This is how it starts.
Eff Obama and his “carbon footprint”
He needs to sell that to the Arab oil magnates and the Iranian oil magnates before he sells it to Canada. ( Yes Ibin Saud, you and yourcamels have a too large carbon footprint....buahahahahahah!)
Canada suckin the Obama D__K? Not a good thing my fellow Canadians.
The world was made “Americans” throughout 2008 when they made illegal donations to Obama’s $750million scampaign and DUped the public on online polls.
Harper's no fool. He knows what Obama really is, and what his idiotic views are about the "carbon footprint" Obama thinks the oil sands make- supplying all that oil to the USA.
If Obama tries to "carbon cap" the oil America needs, there are plenty of other countries just waiting to jump into the tar pit, Japan for one, would love to expand their operations in Alberta, and are just waiting to Obama to "carbon tax" some smaller US operators out of there.
Or a better title would be -”Obama turns America into Canada.”
I would make a Stephen Harper for Obama trade right now. Throw in Pelosi and Reid to move the deal forward faster.
I am sickened by the Maoist cult of personality being stoked over Obama.
Did not this one need a barf alert?
You only think you are.
If Odumbshite pulls this "carbon footprint" crap, here's what the Canadians should do. First, I read somewhere that Canada is the largest supplier of imported oil to the US. Tighten the spigot some. Second, the Northeast US relies heavily on imported electricity from Canada to assure reserve margins. I say do what countries should naturally do, take care of your own first. Tell Obombah that, gee, we really need to keep those megawatts on our side of the border.
Yes, I know it's tinkering around the edges of a trade war. But Obombah is effectively doing that already with the oil sands carbon footprint nonsense. If he wants to play it that way, fine, but make him understand that two can play it just as well.
Yeah, a barf alert was what this needed....but this is a special type which could be called “Deep-Think Barf Alert”.
Some writers go searching for a “theme” and take the first one they find lying on the curb of their famished imagination.
The most telling sign of how Americans really feel is that gun and ammo sales are through the roof.
I tried to go to the local gun show this past weekend and I showed up for the last 3 hours of the show on Sunday and THERE WAS NO PLACE TO PARK. NONE, ZIP. I COULDN'T GET IN. And this was in a very large auditorium and exhibit hall.
The real vote in America is that people are afraid of the future.
Bad things are coming.
Obambi and the Dims are not even remotely connected to reality. It's all fantasy and magic thinking with them.
The Dims are incapable of defending the country.
I hope there is a military coup coming and the Dims are all imprisoned. Or worse. (Or better depending on your viewpoint)
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. — Patrick Henry, 1775
Barack Hussein Obama... the pied piper of change and illusions/delusions of hope.
Who are those who are apt to shut their eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts?
All the sheeple who are worshiping the ground that Obama walks upon.
It is amazing how timeless that quote is today, 232 years later. When those words were penned by Patrick Henry back in 1775, he was attempting to encourage his countrymen to take a stand against a common external enemy. Today we are dealing with an enemy from within.
Where are the Patrick Henry’s of today, who will encourage their countrymen to stand up and stop Obama from destroying the Nation that our founders gave us, through their blood and sacrifice?
It's all the leftist liberal media sucking up the "Messiah syndrome", not Canadians in general except for a few of the usual leftwing moonbats that make up Ontario's welfare rolls. You don't see any of that anywhere in the west. And like i said, Harper isn't a fool, he knows what Obama is. And he doesn't buy into that "global warming" crap at all. It was Harper after all that kyboshed that Kyoto crap, and refuses to sign any carbon BS that doesn't include developing nations Like China and India.
Of course he'll be polite, make the usual Canada USA are the worlds largest trading partners speech, which always includes references to the Canada/US border being the longest open border in the world, and hopes of continued work towards free'er trade, blah blah blah.
In the real world, behind closed doors Harper knows Obama's policies are going to reek havoc to the US economy, which will have a serious impact to trade, especially in Ontario which is by far the most addicted to it, mostly because of the Auto industry.
It isn't near as bad in the west, they do more east-west trade, except for a few long standing integrated markets like cattle, hogs, and oil, timber. Even those have just as much trade volume going east to pacific rim Asian countries, which has been steadily increasing the last decade.
Harper will simply focus on increasing trade with Europe and Asia to compensate for Obama's destruction of the US markets, increasing beef sales to Japan by implementing demands Japanese have made to test every cow for mad cow, high carbon low sulpher coal sales (stuff Obama wants to limit in the USA, because he's too stupid to realize it's needed to make quality steel) etc.
Musing of a left-wing columnist with a chubb on for Obama
should not be used to gauge the views of the majority of Canadians.
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