The corporate media is just a bit out of
control right now. They’re acting like
no Prime Minister has ever visited an American President or the White House
before. Yes, it’s true, we now have a
Prime Minister here who actually likes talking to people and appears to be able
to display human emotion, maybe even excessively so at times, but it’s still a
lot better than the block of concrete we had running things before.
The gushy fawning about Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau and President Obama is just a bit much.
Canadian Prime Ministers have been friends with US Presidents
before. Jean Chretien and Bill Clinton
were close buddies. Brian Mulroney and
Ronald Reagan’s friendship was iconic.
Pierre Trudeau got along well with Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, but
then again, who could not have got along with easy going personalities like
those two? Pierre Trudeau and Richard
Nixon weren’t friends, but given their personalities and methods, that isn’t
surprising.
Lester Pearson and Lyndon Johnson were far
from friendly, although it was mostly LBJ’s doing. The often crude Johnson reportedly grabbed
the diminutive, bow-tied Pearson by the collar and said “you pissed on my rug,”
after the Prime Minister gave an anti-Vietnam war speech. Continuing on the urinary theme, LBJ also is
rumored to have begun an outdoor peeing session in full view of Pearson while
they were hiking around the President’s Texas ranch talking about the Auto Pact
in 1965, also much to the shock of the Prime Minister. His upbringing as a minister’s son and
earlier career as a diplomat were not likely too tolerant or encouraging of
public peeing.
John Diefenbaker and John F. Kennedy’s only
common bond was that they had the same first name. Aside from that, they couldn’t stand each
other. They were both vain individuals,
but Kennedy did vanity with swagger, Dief the Chief did it with bluster. One was a social elite, the other a prairie
populist. Diefenbaker didn’t take the
Cuban Missile Crisis seriously and Kennedy wasn’t impressed. America was ready for WWIII. It was just another day for Canada.
For three days, the Canadian media has been
giving non-stop coverage of Trudeau II and Obama. Their “special relationship” has been
referred to over and over. What exactly
does this mean? It sounds like they’re
leaving their wives for each other and not working on issues of importance to
both Canadians and Americans.
The repeated references to the state dinner
being held this evening at the White House are not only saccharine and
excessive, they are tacky and insulting.
The luxury, menu, and artistry behind it is completely unwarranted given
the economic problems facing both countries right now. Some modesty would be a much better item to
serve. There are people without
jobs. There are people with high
debt. I’m not saying the dinner should
be hot dogs and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, but a bit of realism and
understanding of the ordinary people would be a respectable gesture. The coverage of the dinner has so far given
off a “Let them eat cake” message.
How much of the accomplishments of this
visit will stick? Trudeau is early in
his mandate. His government hasn’t even
introduced a budget yet. Obama,
meanwhile is on the back nine holes of his Presidency. Whoever replaces him, aside from Hillary
Clinton, is going to have very different approaches and priorities. Donald Trump could easily make Justin Trudeau
cry I think. Ted Cruz would just tell
him repent of his sins. Bernie Sanders
is far more progressive on economic issues than Trudeau. He’s also old enough to be his father.
I really don’t care about what was served
at a state dinner. I don’t care about
who sat where and who talked about what.
I don’t care about what Mrs. Obama or Mrs. Trudeau wore. World leaders meet each other all the time. I just want them to do it modestly and get
the business taken care of in the best interests of the citizens of their
respective countries.
No comments:
Post a Comment