The first palpable impact of President Elect Barack Obama’s presidency can already be felt. The strange thing is that the impact can be felt in Canada, not the U.S.
While Obama and his team are busy naming people to his caucus and while Americans can seemingly hardly wait for Obama to take office, the first tangible effects of the looming Obama presidency can already be felt, even if that effect can only be felt north of the border.
Canadians recently elected Conservative Stephen Harper as Prime Minister and in the election Harper made no bones about wanting to move Canada further to the right.
But he recently told delegates in his party to “abandon ideology” and “be pragmatic.”
Harper said this in his keynote address:
"We will have to be tough and pragmatic, not unrealistic and ideological, in dealing with the complex economic challenges that confront us," Harper said.
Clearly the economic downturn is playing a role in Harper’s stated intentions of moving slower to the right than he originally planned, but I think it has more to do with the Obama Effect than the economy.
Harper may be a right-wing ideologue, but he’s not stupid. He’s seen the incredible reaction that Obama has received everywhere he goes. He’s watched Obama’s bipartisan message of “reaching across the aisle” result in a landslide electoral victory. And he’s seen Obama’s liberal views give tens of millions of Americans a sense of hope and pride not experienced in generations.
I think Harper knows it would be foolhardy to run Canada with a hard-right reign when he sees the entire world enthralled with what Obama has done, is doing and is planning on doing.
So even before he takes the oath of office, Obama is already having an effect on world politics.
(cross-posted at abcparty.org Anyone But Conservatives...because the right is wrong for America)