Remember the border erasure ads from the "Free Trade Election"? Remember the effect they had on it? There may just be another "border issue" that plays it's hand in the Federal election that is coming up any month now...
The misplaced fear in the US about the border with Canada has played it's course, with both Republicans and Democrats pretending they're the "toughest" on security, by advocating a tougher border, and the use of passports at crossings (when entering Canada). The schoolyard positioning is typical of the paranoia, fear, misunderstanding, and sheer idiocy that comes with "public defense issues" - be they terrorism, crime, etc. Rather than sober, intelligent discussion, the paranoia and fear (often generated, fostered and fomented by the media and politicians) take over, and suddenly the "hard stance" is the ONLY way to go...
Reading Cathie From Canada's blog made us think about this issue a little in depth. The article she refers to (from the Montreal Gazette) has columnist Josh Freed musing about the Obama administration's "carrying on" of the old Bushist themes of "weak border with Canada", etc.
What DID Canada ever do to Mr. Obama? There is another underlying issue which may be paving the path for the Obama admin's position on the matter. The issue may be more about what Harper DID (how he deliberately tried to scuttle Obama's bid for the White House), and less about what "Canada did". Just sayin'... It's pretty easy to let the matter be decided by the old administration's existing policy, then - with great fanfare - warm to the new Canadian adminstration (coming soon to a H of C near you).
Let this issue fester with Canadians for a while... like, let's see... maybe through the summer tourism season - when Canadians line up at the border to take their families South. Hmmm... It WILL be a major issue. Just in time for the Canadian election.
Sometimes, it's the simple things, like border crossing, that can drive an election. You pack a family of six in a minivan from Napean, and turn them back from the border in Windsor, and watch how blood starts to boil faster than the temperature outside. Watch wait times tick off more than a few travellers (as border guards adjust to the new measures).
What next? How about the "white night" (errr... maybe "red night") coming charging in, with the ability to forge better relations with the Obama regime. Maybe someone who has good relations with top Obama policy folks? Perhaps someone who attended Obama's alma mater?
Bottom line: The passport issue could play very well for Mr. Ignatieff, and his relationship with Canadian voters this summer...
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