Obama's Ottawa Visit Marks the Beginning of the End of Stephen Harper.

I have been swamped this week and no time to post and frustrated because there is so much going on, both in my world and the rest of the world.


I wanted to share some preliminary observations on the Obama visit in a political and policy context. I will be doing a much more extensive analysis on events and implications over the week end and distributing it to the Cambridge Strategies subscriber list early next week.


The bottom line is there were no surprises coming out of the Obama visit. It really was so short and frantic time-wise that it has to be more of a pit stop than a State Visit. There was the usual commentator gushing coming from the MSM. They picked up on the human interest angle more than the politics or policy pronouncements, which while preliminary, were potentially profound. More on that next week but infotainment seems to be the default position of MSM these days.

I think the Ottawa visit was, from a Washington perspective a dress rehearsal for logistics and security when Obama travels overseas on more serious trips. I think Obama’s advance team used Harper as a shill to test out their Presidential travel and protection procedures in a very safe place like Canada. The meeting between leaders was abbreviated orchestrated and the new conference looked like they were filling time with homilies and platitudes.

Policy substance was hinted at but it was diverted into future “dialogues” to happen between officials. On the personality side it was good to see Obama extend his time with Harper to 90 minutes from an hour and with Ignatieff to 35 minutes from the 15 minutes the PMO allocated.

Typical shabbiness from the PMO to delegate the Obama –Ignatieff time to the hospitality of a hanger at the airport - but that is just what we have come to expect from the hyper-partisan Prime Minister Harper.


The new secret weapon Canada has on the diplomatic front is Governor General Michaelle Jean. Obama seems to be most comfortable and communicative with her and why not given the symbolic between them.


My sense is the Obama visit is the beginning of the end of Harper politically. The perfunctory visit to Canada that was a dress rehearsal for more serious international visits is one thing but I sense Obama’s advance team sized Harper up as a waste of time. He is in a weak and weakening position politically, an acolyte of the Bush White House and will only pay lip service to Obama’s progressive agenda.


The world orienting story and grand narrative changed when Obama got elected. Harper is lost and languishing in the past glories of Reagan and Bush years and is out of dated and out of touch. Obama knows that and decided to waste little time on Harper due to his tenuous grasp on leadership.


The PMO tried in the most self-conscious and inept ways possible to draw parallels between Harper and Obama and could only muster embarrassing linkages like both are “family men” and “outsiders.” One has the urge to divert one’s eyes in the face of even reading such embarrassing stretches of reality and pretenses of rapport.


On the other hand, the parallels between Obama and Ignatieff were obvious. Both were Harvard educated, academics, teachers and accomplished writers. Harper is apparently writing a book – on hockey. Obama noted that he he has actually ready Ignatieff's books during their airport hanger meeting. Iggy appropriately played down the media musing on his similarities to the President by noting “Look, there’s only one Barack Obama…I’m a politician in Canada. Let’s keep it under control here.” Can you ever imagine Stephen Harper uttering such a self deprecating statement?


Canadians are tiring and distrusting of Harper and will soon dismiss his judgment, question his ability and worry over his commitment to actually deliver the stimulus needed to resolve the recession crisis we face. His only saving grace is the polls showing general feeling of optimism of Canadians indicating they believe that we will weather this storm before the end of 2009. That optimism was measured before the headlines of today showing that once mighty Alberta has also fallen into a sharp recession. Alberta has moved from an $8B surplus to a $1B deficit in a mere 6 months. That is sobering and serious stuff that will no doubt resonate adversely across the psyche of the nation. I will have more to say on that in later posts.


I still think we are into a fall 2009 election. This is ironically consistent with Harper’s fixed election law. remember that laws he blatantly ignored for reasons of retaining personal power and to hell with the best interests of the country? Right now Ignatieff holds the strings and the trump cards and Harper is forced to dance to a different tune than he wants to and it is music that he does not even seem to know. It is just a matter of time before Harper quits or losses and returns to private life as a fellow in the Fraser Institute.

Will Harper Decline in 2009 Like Bush Did in 2008?

The world order of Pariah Minister Stephen Harper has changed dramatically in the past few months. He has moved from being disingenuous, mean spirited and misleading to mendacious and capricious not only with the truth but with the good of the country.

His political talisman has been the Bush White House. He has not emulated "W" so much as he has Rumsfeld and Cheney and deployed the Rovarian Cancer of a constant political campaign at a time when we needed governing and leadership. Will he suffer the same lame duck fate as President Bush has seen in his a precipitous decline in popularity and suitability for office?

Harper is a quick study but a slow learner as shown by his character flaws and stubbornness in resisting adaptation and refusal to assume responsibility or culpability for his monumental errors in judgment.

Lawrence Martin's thoughtful and insightful study of Pariah Minister Harper refreshes our memories of how poorly he has been at governing. Canadians are tired of elections and tired of leadership campaigns and are unsettled to say the least about their futures.

We have elected 3 consecutive minority governments. While a coalition government is foreign to our traditions it is not out of the question. It may be a necessity if the Harper Party persists in pursuing personal power over providing us with some economic and social stability in this serious recession.

Harper has one last chance with his January 27th budget to smarten up and to show he can and will attend to governing the country. Otherwise I say dump the Harper Party and lets see what a coalition government can do instead of another election right away.

Masters of the Universe Icons of Commerce Prove to be Just Greedy Bastards at the End of the Day

There are so many things wrong with the world today. The comfortable lightness of being Canadian, and especially being Albertan, is not making us immune from the harsh realities that are about to befall from the world-wide market meltdown.

Canadians should never forget that Harper lied to us about the pending recession during the last election with his promises of never allowing a deficit and now he is accepting one. He also lied when he said we would escape the economic impact of the American induced financial crisis based on our best of breed amongst a bad lot in the global banking system.

Thank to Kevin Page's honest and professional assessment of the Canadian economic reality, it will be more difficult for the Harper government to continue to lie and mislead use about the fiscal facts facing Canada in the economic update expected later this week.


I am astonished that the corporatist Masters of the Universe types, Detroit's "big three" Chapter would be so self-absorbed and unaware. How they handled their recent bailout bumbling in Washington this past week shows just how indifferent and unaware they are of the real world of the rest of us. I can see no reason to justify a bailout of the automotive sector under the current circumstances. If the free market system is to be free, it has to be free to fail. Lets not see governments try to pick winners with public investments that interfere in the marketplace realities. Where will it stop? We in Alberta know first hand it will not work based on past experiences.

I have some stomach for the taxpayer buyouts of some of the banking business bozos. I can even accept the planning shift of TARP away from buying the bogus paper these bastards pushed out the doors for bloated fees and foolishness. Still, letting some financial institutions fail like Bears Stearns and Lehman Brothers is a good thing.

Trying to restore confidence in financial sectors by buying equity positions that essentially nationalized the American financial sector is a necessity to ensure some semblance of a working market place for everyone. That said, it has yet to be proven effective. For example, Citigroup got $25B of bailout money and promptly dropped 23% of stock market value - in one day. This once enormous bank is cutting 52,000 jobs and now has a market capitalization smaller than Home Depot.

So much also for asinine assurances and the mistaken mythological around sound conservative economic management capabilities that inappropriately inure to the Republican Party. They have methodically removed the role of good government and the capacity and flexibility of any government to be reasonably responsive to the worldwide financial crises the Bush White House has aided and abetted.

They have removed required regulatory oversight, instituted low taxes for the rich, were the biggest of tax spenders and have proven to be accomplished deficit builders and incredibly inept fiscal managers. Canadians must never forget that our own Artless Dodger, “Steve” Harper is a disciple of the new-Republican economic strategy - and there is no evidence he has changed.

We have all these indifference greedy and gouging corporate executives pocketing huge personal fortunes all under the guise of socially, environmentally sustainble wealth creation and myths of increased shareholder value in “free” enterprise model. They are now proven to be just plain greedy and reckless at best…profoundly irresponsible and perhaps criminal at worst.

As the recession sets in next year we will see more children remain or be reduced to poverty as their families fail to be able to provide the necessities of life for them to escape the rut of economic want and the social and personal tragedies that are inevitable to at risk kids. Child poverty ha s not improved in a generation where economic growth has been the highest and longest sustained period in history. Child mental health is also a national disgrace and bound to get worse. This is thanks in large part to the personal and institutional greed of these fat cats who are proven to be reckless, feckless and check less, thanks AGAIN to bad politicians with a penchant for irresponsible deregulation coupled with shortsighted and short term policy perspectives.

From now on I am only going to invest in ethical corporations with leadership that sees business as having a social, environmental and wealth creation value set…not just growth at any cost. I am going to call out anyone I see irresponsibly running a public or private enterprise contrary to the greater public good as well as producing shareholder value.

Is Harper Hapless to Deal With the Economic Crisis?

Looks like most of the ideas to deal with the economic crisis will be coming from the Premier's at tomorrows First Minister's meeting. Stephen "the Fundamentals are Strong" Harper is becoming more like a deer in the market meltdown headlights. I hope he takes good notes at the G20 meetings in Washington next week. He clearly needs some ideas about what to do in response. Let's home he listens to others then George Bush for a change.

If Anyone is Too Risky to Rule Over Canada It's Stephen Harper

The American election is so much more interesting but not nearly as important to Canadians as our own election. The link between the Harper Con-Trolls and the Neo-Republicans in the States is becoming more and more direct.

Harper’s Americanization of political campaigning in Canada is hardly a subtle shift but one that will have profound impact on our democracy if citizens don’t show up and stop it at the ballot box this election. Harper is a clear and present danger to our Canadian democracy.

Just look at how he ignored and ran roughshod over any semblance of independence in his Supreme Court appointment just before calling the election. He made a big deal about vetting nominees before a Parliamentary Committee last time a Supreme was appointed. This time he stacked and disbanded the independent review process. Next he abandoned his own manipulated politically motivated judicial review process - and made the Court appointment all by his lonesome. Scary, unless you like a dictatorship!

If you want to know what Harper is likely to do next and how he will conduct himself, just look at the tactics and trickery of the McCain – Palin ticket for some clues. This article entitled “McCain and Palin are Trying to Take Political Lying to the Next Level” could be a sign of the Harper times to come.

As the American economy goes into meltdown, Harper will try a position himself as the master economic manager. He will continue to mislead Canadians about Dion’s Green Shift by ignoring the tax reductions that reach most of us and the shift of tax burden on those who behaved badly towards the environment.

The truth is obviously going to be the first victim in a Harper government. We need leadership we can trust and believe…that is not Harper.

Harper is a one trick phony and insists that he alone commands his universe and that he alone controls everything. Harper is the only economist of note who is out of step with the best economic minds in the country. His ideological folly like a minimal GST cut instead of income tax cuts is one example. The heavy handed ideologically driven wipe out of billions of savings for Canadians with his sneaky and stealth of Income Trust lying is another. His denial of climate change and anemic policy of deferral of any serious action until 2050 shows he is out of touch – and dangerous -he is - yet again.

Harper is not decisive he is dangerous. He is not a leader. He is a misleader. In times where trustworthiness is necessary, Harper prefers political trickery and tactics instead governance. As we move into increasing economic uncertainty we have a man who wants a Conservative dynasty and to destroy the opposition. His personal values in this campaign are based on political nastiness and mudslinging and gamesmanship instead of the truer Canadian values like peace, order and good government?

The purpose of an election is for citizens to make informed choices about who is worthy of trust and respect to lead our country and to speak for us as an entire nation, not just the Quebec nation. Harper is not that man. His record shows his penchant for bullying and bluster. He is an old-school command and control imperialist strong-man leader like Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. He campaigns like a Neo-Republican that uses Bush-Rove machinations stressing emotion over information, half truths and outright misleading manipulation of facts to gain power.

If you are looking at where the real risk lies for Canadians as we decide who should govern us you need look no further than the Bush Mini-Me – Mr. Stephen Harper and vote anybody but him and his party.