This past Wednesday, during the Republican National Convention, the Globe and Mail featured an interesting article written by one of their regular columnists John Ibbitson. The article was essentially making the case on why Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney would be a good president for Canadian interests. The wonderful blogger SixthEstate brought this article to my attention and used it to further dispel the myth of Liberal media in Canada. The Globe and Mail, to be frank, is not liberal. While it's true they have occasional bursts of insight, they mostly write incredulous articles like this one or this one.
Anyways, the piece starts off with an encouraging statistic, one that would give Ibbitson a difficult time convincing Canadians that Romney should win the top job: 66% of Canadians would vote for President Barack Obama compared to the 9% who would vote for Romney. Now, Ibbitson says that you, the 66%, should reconsider your position, a position that would prove to be inconsequential to the election since it's not the approval of Canadians that matters here. But, reconsider regardless!
Ibbitson then goes on to say that Romney would "know Canada more than any other president in history," even though there is speculation that Chester A. Arthur was born in Canada after his parents emigrated from Ireland to Quebec; even though Franklin D. Roosevelt had a home in Canada and traveled to Canada more than any other president due to relations during wartime. But, Romney spent his youth vacationing there and lived in Detroit therefore he must've gone to Windsor since the two cities are so close. This is a new trend I'm noticing among Republicans: that traveling somehow counts as foreign policy experience. On Meet the Press, Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty said that because Romney was involved in business transactions overseas and was once a Mormon missionary, he has enough foreign policy experience to be president. Traveling to a country obviously doesn't make you an expert on their political culture and style of governance. And yet, Republicans and the Globe and Mail it seems are quick to suggest otherwise since travelling gives you a "sense" of what that country is like. But, if people are going to run for president and claim that they will get America back on the world stage, then it would be useful for them to acquire more than just a "sense" of the rest of the world. Of course, this idea is more than just beyond noxious, it's also glowing proof of the misguided, myopic lens that Republicans and Republican-sympathizers like Ibbitson use to see the rest of the world.
In contrast, Ibbitson says, President Barack Obama has only visited the country a few times prior to being Commander-in-Chief and thought that the country is cold. While it is true that Obama has only visited Canada once as President and vetoed against the Keystone XL pipeline which would create dozens of jobs, to say that Obama doesn't "know" Canada is a little absurd.* Relations between the two countries are not at an all-time low, despite what two professors at Carleton argue. In fact, the two countries are increasingly growing similar, mostly due to the Conservative government we have in Canada.
The article progresses to briefly discuss the plans both candidates have for the economy, which is Romney's strength according to poll results. Unlike Obama, Ibbitson says, Romney actually has a plan even though it's "stupid." So, according to Ibbitson, a plan that is fiscally irresponsible is much better than what Obama has been doing, working without a budget. Well, that's not exactly true, Ibbitson. Obama has proposed a budget in the not-too-distant past, May 2012, which fell to humiliating defeats in both the House of Representatives (414-0) and the Senate (99-0). Obama's budget for the 2013 fiscal year was regarded as a fair, balanced, and responsible proposal, one that would help the middle class to drive the economy. There was a substantial amount of investment in education and clean energy while maintaining MediCare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Not to mention, Obama even tried to reach for compromise with the Republicans by tabling spending cuts and by preserving defense spending. These were things that are not mentioned in Ibbitson's article even though a healthy, robust American economy thought to be generated by this budget would likewise benefit Canada.
Ibbitson concludes by taking the opposite position, listing all the ways in which Romney would fail to deliver Canadian interests as President of the United States. His major flaw is that he's a Republican which means he believes in tax cuts for the rich, opposing gay rights, threatening military action in Iran, no abortions under any circumstance, and agreeing with Rush Limbaugh. Canadians take the exact opposite stance as Romney. We believe in higher taxes for the wealthy, equality for gays and lesbians, the women's right to choose, and a steadfast refusal to broadcast his show in Canada or for Canadian bands to have their music featured on his program. On Iran, we take the United States' approach to push for more sanctions, but Iran still views Canada more favourably than the US or UK.
After weighing the two sides, Ibbitson then refutes his initial position on Romney and said that there isn't a case for him after all! While this is the best sentence in the article, it renders the editorial pointless and Ibbitson sheepish for failing to take a proper stance. Is Ibbitson here trying to engender debate among Canadians on Romney by elucidating on his past and connections to Canada? Like I said, that debate is inconsequential to the actual result of the election. However, that doesn't mean it's not important for Canada to consider the policies of both candidates. We definitely should since we have economic, diplomatic, and military ties to the United States. And, it doesn't mean that Canadian Media should not cover the US election since it technically has nothing to do with us. The amount of coverage in the national newspapers has been adequate, with the Globe and Mail's "Canadians living in the US" feature and the regular dispatches in the National Post from star columnist Andrew Coyne.
Canadians need to consider the ramifications of both outcomes, either a second-term for Obama or a first mandate for Romney. But, it's best if they do it without the help of Ibbitson's article.
*Besides, Obama is believed to reconsider his original position anyways.
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