This changes everything

So! President-Elect Barack Obama, eh?

First off, I don't think there's any country for which it could be more significant (in a good way) to have a black president. So I'm quite thrilled about that. And I'm also looking forward not only to the likely change in American image on the global stage, but to, perhaps, improved goodwill amongst Canadians. It's so fashionable here to make a point of pride about "not being like the U.S.", and Harper has taken a lot of flack for - horror of horrors! - being on good terms with his U.S. counterpart, but that's hardly a surprise, as PM's going as far back as Pearson have traditionally been at odds with their concurrent Presidents. What should prove interesting now, and why I think Canadian attitudes towards the U.S. will shift, is due to:

a) Obama's campaign has been about unity, and Harper has no fear of being united with our most significant ally. He also appears to have been planning for an Obama white house, as he stated back in August that he felt Obama would take it, which means...

b) Our PM will most likely be on good terms with a President the majority of Canada likes. This is a big deal, folks!

Perhaps this is all pie in the sky, but I think it would be very exciting if less Canadians clung to a knee-jerk snobbery in regards to looking down on America.

That's what I'm looking forward to with Obama's white house. But in the larger scheme of things, my gut reaction to his win has been fear. He's smooth, and charming, and tells people what they want to hear - in other words, in 22 months, he hasn't put any cards on the table involving stands that someone may not want to hear. In his (laudable) press for unity, he hasn't been willing to risk rocking the boat. What this adds up to is someone whose policies and stances are very murky. The reason I'd have been comfortable with a McCain white house is because I feel I'd know what to expect from it. Obama, with so little federal experience and so little said in 22 months of generally electrifying speeches, hasn't shown or told me what to expect from him at all, except that he apparently seeks to please everybody. But that's not a leader's role, not even in a democracy. It's not anywhere close to being realistic, either. But it's what the voters want to hear. This is why I would never vote here at home for Jack Layton, because of how his public statements on issues shift to match opinion polls, and it's what makes me so nervous about Obama.

Well...this gives me very good practice at not fearing, in a relatively simple test of heeding Christ's admonition to quit my worryin'. I do believe a lot of good can come from this administration. And, if nothing else, it will be the most fascinating American administration in my memory.

And hey! Nothing says interesting like an unpredictable Commander-in Chief! Am I wrong?

So well done, sir, and may you walk the straight and narrow.