I'm with Dr Dawg: one excellent reason for cheering Obama on next Tuesday night is the memory of the U.S. ambassadors that BushCo have sent us over the last eight years.
David Wilkins has been noisy and tendentious enough, but few have ever meddled as undiplomatically and condescendingly as Paul "The Mouth from Massachusetts" Cellucci. Or at such length, over such a time. Just this week Cellucci has been waggling a Republican finger at Canadians for liking Obama, irrational fear-mongering and overbearing scolding being what Republicans do best. Mentarch has a handy list this afternoon of some of Cellucci's greatest hits -- not to be missed.
There is, as always, deeper and more disturbing background to Cellucci's remanifestation among us this week. Yesterday Alison at Creekside and The Galloping Beaver published a splendid if disturbing update on the adventures of the faux-academic front group for the deep-integrationists of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. Guess who was there? I urge you to read every word of Alison's priceless synthesis and follow every link. These guys won't quit: "What does it mean to be good neighbours?" indeed.
If one thing cheered me up about the canada.com article about Cellucci today, it was seeing that the funny research group that did the push-poll for CDFAI none the less reported honestly on Canadians' high opinion of Obama.
Not that the opinions of mere citizens have ever mattered to Paul and his continentalizing friends in this country. That, in fact, is the point of what they're doing -- to get citizens and representative democracy out of the way. Again, they won't quit. So we can't either.
Who do we want as a new ambassador, btw?
Can we look forward to a day when these strident cheerleaders for the worst foreign policy debacle in at least a generation will finally feel sufficiently shamed to just shut the hell up?
Re: ambassador. I'd suggest Joe Biden but I imagine he'll be otherwise engaged.
Yeah, we coulda had Joe. Sigh.
We can't have a senator -- they're all needed in the Senate. There are a few reps who actually know and care a bit about Canada (Delahunt, Nadler), but again, they're needed in Washington for the numbers. Richardson is probably headed for bigger things. I just don't know the other good governors well enough.
I understand, however, that Elizabeth and John Edwards are free. Now, I know that foreign policy wasn't his strength, but I believe that Elizabeth actually has some background there. They might find us a friendly change from the chill they've run into down home.
Just kidding. I have no idea.
Samantha Power.
Doesn't Power come as a package with Sunstein? Not so sure what I think of that.
We've already got Iggy and John Ralston Saul. Can we possibly stand another one of those?
How about Valerie Plame? She's got foreign experience.
Valerie and Joe -- now there's an original thought. It won't happen, of course, but wouldn't that be a nice parting nose-thumb at the traitors Bush and Cheney?
I fear that my misspent youth (last year) is coming back to haunt me.
I don't know if it would be a good thing or not, but I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see Colin Powell as U.S. ambassador to Canada.
No one respects Powell outside of the USA.
If anything it's going to be an ex-Clintonian.
David Wilkins addressed Canadians a couple of days ago and informed us that we might find ourselves missing George W. Bush. Apparently Wilkins has yet to join the reality-based community.
Well, I'll bet that Wilkins is going to miss him, and it gives me some satisfaction to know that.
Have you seen Alison's latest update on Cellucci?
Aqueducts? The man wants aqueducts? He's a fiend.