Thursday, November 20, 2008

Quiz: "So how will Obama appeal to Canadians once the rosy afterglow wears off?"

"In particular, how will his presidency sit with the Canadian anti-American coalition, the New Democratic Party, the Greens, the Bloc Québécois, and all those raging grannies of whatever age who despise the United States and all its works?"

So asks Jack Granatstein. His answer: "Not well is my guess."

My answer would be: the verdict from Canada's pseudo-left was already in, well before Obama was elected. Four months ago, Linda McQuaig had already written him off as "resolutely in sync with the existing script prepared by Washington power brokers, not even veering far from the Bush White House. . . he's not subhuman [but] he's just as warmongering as Bush." Months before that, even, the senile John Pilger - from whom Canada's pseudo-left punditocracy conventionally takes its cue - had judged Obama to be "a glossy Uncle Tom."

My guess, then, is that the default position will be this post-election line - uttered in Obama's defence, if you don't mind - which has already been regurgitated countless times: "Obama is the candidate of the ruling class and he has the job of rescuing American imperialism and American capitalism."

If we're in the guessing business today, mine would be that there is only one serious electoral hope for the Canadian centre-left. It's this guy.

7 Comments:

Blogger Mark, Ottawa said...

One takes the great-grandson of Russian aristos and Flashman villains where one can find them :).

Mark
Ottawa

4:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think Obama might turn out to be an American version of Pierre Trudeau. May God have mercy on them if it works out that way they will need it.

10:43 PM  
Blogger ahmed said...

I'll take a pass on Mr Empire Lite, a man, let's remember supported the war on Iraq. A man who after 9/11 embraced the war on terror rhoetoric enemating from the Busgh White House and argued for "narrower defintions of torture. This man is so used to speaking the language of power that he long ago lost all his moral bearing

4:12 PM  
Blogger Stephen K said...

Well, I don't know. I hope Obama will turn out to be the progressive president many think he will.

I will correct ahmed and note that Obama actually opposed the war in Iraq. And anything he said during the election campaign ,such as not ruling out attacking Iran, or what he said at the AIPAC conference, could be for the sake of electioneering, pandering to the conservative vote. I'm not going to dismiss him out of hand before he even takes office.

That said, some of his appointments, especially on the economic front, are concerning.

4:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

As long as Obama pays my mortgage, fills my gas tank, stops the oceans from rising and heals the planet like he has promised - I an so filled wit hope, he can be as anti-progressive as he wants.

6:49 AM  
Blogger ahmed said...

Sorry, I figured that it was obvious that I was speaking of Ignatieff not Obama

11:26 AM  
Blogger The Contentious Centrist said...

"And anything he said during the election campaign ,such as not ruling out attacking Iran, or what he said at the AIPAC conference, could be for the sake of electioneering, pandering to the conservative vote. "

Funny how it is Obama's most devout supporters, like Stephen K. here, who push the line that he is a liar and has been telling lies for two years now. What a strange motivation to root for someone, having to disregard some very clearly and robustly articulated positions, and explaining to themselves and others that he is only lying, in order to get in. Hence lies and deception become the reasons to vote for him.

What makes Stephen K. so sure that Obama, by all accounts a tough, decent person and a thoughtful thinker, would knowingly and deliberately choose to lie to Americans?

2:21 PM  

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