Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

unhappycamper

(60,364 posts)
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 07:38 AM Jun 2014

Obama, Harper and the end of the affair

http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/obama-harper-and-the-end-of-the-affair/



Obama, Harper and the end of the affair
Paul Wells
June 9, 2014

“My unshakeable belief is that the U.S.-Canada relationship is strong and thriving,” Bruce Heyman said the other night at the National Gallery of Canada on Sussex Drive. It was a big night, for Bruce Heyman is the new American ambassador to Canada, and he had not yet shared his thoughts on relations between our two countries. Turns out he likes to look on the bright side. He’ll need to.

Heyman is a cheerful Chicago investment banker who raised campaign funds for Barack Obama. He replaces David Jacobson, a cheerful Chicago lawyer who raised campaign funds for Barack Obama. As with much else in the Obama presidency, one senses a trend. He was not offering his first diagnosis of the bilateral relationship a moment too soon, because he was speaking 18 months before the 2016 Iowa presidential caucuses. Any later and he would have run into the next president’s ambassador. (These things take time. Obama had so many fundraisers to choose from. The Senate was in no rush to confirm the appointment.)

Now here Heyman is and, after a three-week tour of Canada, he was pleased to share his impressions. Basically, he said, everything’s great, as long as you don’t notice the two guys in charge.

He praised the border—5,000 miles!—and the integration of the two countries’ economies. “It’s not just that we make things together,” he said. “Now, we’re making more things together.” He was bullish on investment. If you live in one country and want to do business in the other, he suggested, “call the American embassy here in Ottawa,” something most businesses never do.
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Foreign Affairs»Obama, Harper and the end...