As we come to the end of the week that may mark the turning point in the 2006 election, a little perspective from north of the border may be just what the doctor ordered.
Here in Canada, most MSM outlets take pains to avoid use of the term "war on terror." When used, "war on terror" is almost always preceded by the phrase "so-called" or enclosed within sneering quotation marks.
The number of Canadians who think terrorism is the most important issue facing the country ranges from zero to two percent. Most pollsters have dropped terrorism from their questionaires. This is despite the fact that Canada has 2,500 troops in Afganistan and has suffered 37 fatalities to date. Canadians think global warming is a far more important issue than terrorism.
A top aide to former Liberal Prime Minister Chretien has just published his memoirs. The revalations on the flip provide yet more ammo for the "Bush is hoplessly out of his depth" thesis.
* Chretien was unconvinced by the so-called evidence of weapons of mass destruction. He met Bush, remarked afterwards that he had started his career as a small town lawyer, and said Bush's case wouldn't have convinced a rural judge from his neck of the woods. So Chretein kept us out of Iraq. This was a rare instance of Canada parting company from its principal allies, the U.S. and U.K., on a war and peace issue
* At the same meeting Bush "joked" that if he caught leakers they would be strung up by their thumbs "just like we do in Guantanamo.' Charming, eh? But then Bob Woodward has just revealed that Bush and Rove were also big on making fart jokes.