THE WORLD W LEFT HIM:

Obama and Harper forge common front (Mitch Potter & Bruce Campion-Smith, 2/20/09, Toronto Star)

Barack Obama swept aside eight years of jangled Canadian nerves and cross-border tensions yesterday, singling out his northern neighbour as the first choice for a new American partnership with the world.

In a lightning visit designed to turn a fresh page in Canada-U.S. relations and tamp down trade worries, Obama made all the right sounds, including a declaration that "I love this country and think that we could not have a better friend and ally." [...]

The day was a triumph, too, for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who found his level with Obama in an expansive question-and-answer session with journalists, the only unscripted moment of a carefully scheduled day.

Despite big differences in philosophy and style, Obama and Harper presented a common front on issues as varied as the war in Afghanistan, reversing the recession and pushing back the hot-button issue of trade protectionism.

Consider that W not only effectively regime-changed Canada but even the party of the Left therein, now run by a Bush-Blair clone.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 20, 2009 8:00 AM