I am the President of Canada

By Michael J.W. Stickings

So what did I miss during my 2 1/2-week absence? The horrible bridge tragedy in Minnesota, the death of Ingmar Bergman (one of the giants, even if his silence-of-God existentialism seems rather banal now -- The Seventh Seal barely holds up upon further viewing), FISA talk (the abuse was worse than previously thought, but the Democrats are acting like pathetic cowards, unable, it would seem, to stand up for Americans' basic civil liberties, not that the White House is serious about compromise), Basra is collapsing into chaos, Cheney continues to propagandize like Goebbels, there was yet another Democratic debate (yawn-zzzzz), Barry Bonds did something historic (and steroidal), the Surge continues to be a failure, and Romney won some Iowa straw poll (and that's significant because...?). And... and... and...

Oh, and Barack Obama -- at that Democratic debate -- referred to the President of Canada.

Quick: Is there a president of Canada?

-- Yes
-- No

If you answered "Yes," please smack yourself upside the head. If you answered "No," pat yourself on the back -- but not too much, and without self-congratulation, there's no excuse for getting this one wrong, particularly if you're a leading contender for your (major) party's presidential nomination.

Does it matter that Obama got this one horribly wrong? Does it matter that it was a genuine Bush moment?

Well, maybe not -- surely Obama knows that we have a prime minister, not a president, and perhaps he even knows his name (do you? -- answer below). And yet this blunder, I would argue, reinforces the perception of Obama as too inexperienced, too raw, for prime time. He may know a thing or two about red states and blue states, and he may know how to get through to the Oprah Generation, but does he know enough about what really matters out there beyond America's borders? Again, perhaps he does, and perhaps, beyond what he knows, his views on the world beyond America's borders are good enough.

Suffice it to say that Obama's blunder was an embarrassment, a big one, and not one that a good Canadian like me is about to forget. The perception of Obama as too inexperienced may not be fair, but there is that perception out there. And all Obama did was make it more real.

**********

Answer: Stephen Harper (Conservative Party).