What do Harper and Bush have in common?

Besides being ideological brethren, Harper seems to share GWB's absolute cluelessness when it comes to foreign affairs.

In today's Globe and Mail, there is this article in which Harper is basically blaming Martin for the lack of resolution of the BSE crisis.

I don't want to get into a "but he started it" argument, but from my perspective, relations with the US nosedived the day that GWB elected. Bush made it abundantly clear that he had little interest in anything outside of the US at that time, and then proceeded to rather blatantly snub the leader of his largest trading partner.

Since then, little has happened to ameliorate anything. The protectionist lobby groups in the US continue to push for more and more blockages in the trade system; Bush and his inner circle seem quite content to ignore anything outside of empire building.

I'm pretty sure that even if Harper was our elected Prime Minister, anything short of surrendering Canada to American whim would be ignored. (The only reason that the former proposition might be considered is for access to Canada's significant resources - particularly oil and fresh water)

Harper seems to think that the Prime Minister has been inert, and inactive on the BSE discussion. Martin certainly hasn't had any "breakthrough successes" with the US government, but given that this is a Presidential Election year, that's hardly any big surprise. Their focus right now is entirely on convincing Americans that _their_ interests are being protected and furthered. The interests of a trading partner such as Canada don't even register on the radar.

A brief look at the headlines on CNN this morning underscores this:

Kerry Blasts Bush Deficit
Cheney: Kerry Win Risks Another Attack

Let's face it, It doesn't matter who is in charge down there right now - they aren't paying attention to anything that doesn't register on the voter opinion polls. (And since the US still has meat on the store shelves, BSE doesn't register)

Mr. Harper needs to get a grip on reality and start being constructive - within Canada. How about removing the inter-provincial trade barriers that force much of our beef production into the US? Where is the obvious initiatives to broaden Canada's market access around the world? Where are his proposals for made in Canada solutions?

A closed border _is_ a Canadian problem. Let's solve it in Canada. If the US doesn't want to trade with Canada's beef, then let's get out there and find someone who does. The pre-BSE crisis status quo was foolishly tied to the Americans actually respecting the border and free trade. Since that's clearly not the case, let's move forward.

Whether Bush or Kerry gets elected this November doesn't matter - Canada has a problem with selling Beef to the US. Let's work on expanding our capabilities in Canada (hmmm - lessee - creates jobs, opportunity etc.), and find countries that are interested in our trade. The EU, Mexico and much of South America are very realistic trading allies, let's work on those markets instead of worrying about the lack of progress with the US.

Mr. Harper seems to think the world revolves around the United States. It doesn't, and Canada should be positioning itself so that we aren't put into crisis by the American proclivity for protectionism.