I was listening to the remarks of the US Ambassador to Canada last night, and was totally blown away by the not too subtle message to the PM.  The media is speculating that this is a “direct message” from The White House, but I’m reserving judgement. 

The conspiracy theorists in da house, seem to think that this is a blatent endorsment of Harper by the White House.  I shudder to think of the implications of Bubba Bush getting involved in our political games.  This totally smells like Carl Rove’s doing…

I don’t think that the PM has been overtly hostile toward the US, but rather holding his ground on issues related to Canada’s well being.  Softwood lumber, the Iraq war, and other international aid efforts have a direct effect on Canadians and the governments resources.  Personally, I am conforted by the fact that we have a PM that will stand up to the United States, and respond to issues case by case, keeping Canada’s obligations and limitations in perspective. 

God forbid we get a Conservative patsy, who will go running to the US’s side just to maintain diplomatic relationships.  To be fair Stephen Harper has said that we will not be sending troops to Iraq, but I suspect this is simply playing to public opinion polls.

The ambassador was certainly polite and succint in his messages.  But, as Mary-Lou Findlay said last night on the CBC As It Happens show:

“Are Neighbours and friends the same thing?”

Well it finally happen, the first totally inappropriate remark from the campaign trail.  The “Beer and Popcorn” remark came from Scott Reid, a senior communicaitons advisor, who was talking about the conservative’s plan to give $1500 to parents as opposed to the Liberal’s plan to put the money into childcare infrastrucsture. 

As an aside, doesn’t it seem absolutely ridiculous for government to collect money, only to turn around and write a check to the people who gave them the money in the first place?  I must be mistaken in thinking that governments provide services to tax payers not hand out cash.  But I digress.

 The liberal’s have apologized for the remark, which I can totally understand being made in a backroom conversation.  (It is actually kind of witty).  But damn, not for the general public people!  We’ll see how it plays out, as usual the analysts are all doom and gloom about the Liberal’s after the comment, calling this a turning point.

Over the past few days we've seen a bunch of people expressing interest in the Federal Liberal Leadership.   Some of the candidates are truely surprising both from a personal perspective as well as their position on the political spectrum.

Bob Rae was the first really big surprise.  I have a soft spot for Bob Rae as he's a friend of my step father's and one of the first really prolific left politicians.  Many blame him for deficits that the conservatives inherited, but his social policy was solid.  I think with a strong cabinet, Rae would be a great choice for a leader.  (Although he might be a hard sell to Liberals in general, as he is a little too far to the left for people to be comfortable.)

Gerrard Kennedy is another unlikely candidate.  Education has been a priority for the McGuinty government, so Kennedy has been in the news a fair amount in the past year.  From a policy perspective he would be another liberal favorite.  He has a great track record working with disparate groups and building consensus in difficult places.  But from a political point of view, he is kind of awkward.  He's not great while in the hot seat, and it might take a few years to get him up to the standard of public speaking that is required of a leader. 

Stephane Dion has more federal experience than the others, but is a little awkward as well.  I caught a bit of his press conference this morning, and while the speech was good, he totally read it.  Again, media training might fix this but I think that a leader of the Liberal Party should already be a little more cultivated. 

There are others of course that have expressed interest in the parties leadersip, but they are city councillors and such.  Without a huge political network to get financing, making those bids come to anything will be a monumental task.

So to conclude, the contenders so far seem to be a little further left than in the past, they seem to be a little less polished, and they seem to lack the federal political network that is needed to make it happen.

The next few months will be interesting for sure.