Obama Canada Trip To Address Protectionist Fears

OTTAWA — Canadians greeted a presidential visit from George W. Bush with 8,000 protesters. For President Barack Obama? They're selling T-shirts, and the conservative government is happy to see him.

"They want to bask in the same glory," said Nelson Wiseman, an associate professor at the University of Toronto. "Nobody would have gone to Ottawa to try to get a glimpse of Bush except to demonstrate against him."

Obama goes to Canada on Thursday for his first foreign visit as president. It will be short, about six hours long. He is not staying for dinner.

But he will meet with Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper for a working lunch and a joint news conference. He will also meet briefly with Liberal opposition leader Michael Ignatieff at the airport before he leaves.

"If he's here five hours or five minutes he's welcome on Canadian territory," Ignatieff said. "We hope this is the first of many visits."

Harper will be want to be seen as close to Obama, unlike with Bush, said David Biette, director of the Canada Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington.

"Most Canadians found George W. Bush radioactive," Biette said. "Canadians love Obama, so Harper has a much freer range to make motions toward the United States."

Ronald Reagan, Bush's father, and Bill Clinton made Canada their first stop, but Bush went to Mexico. Canadians felt snubbed.

When Bush visited in 2004, about 8,000 Canadians protested largely because of America's actions in Iraq.

This time, "we anticipate that the crowds will be very enthusiastic," Ottawa Police Supt. Charles Bordeleau said.

Jessica Franklanv, an employee of Bang-on T-shirts, said they've sold hundreds of Obama T-shirts.

"People are really excited that he's coming up here so soon after the election," Franklanv said. "I think everybody would like the chance to see him."

Comments

[stealthgurl007]

I wish free trade meant that we could trade our PM Harper for Pres. Obama!

[Paul Peete - Huffpost Blogger]

Sorry, we need him here, now. But: we have a fella named McCain you can have for free!

[stealthgurl007]

Thanks but no thanks; my friend(s)!

[Jessegirl]

LOL!!!! Harper suddenly sounds better. But not much.

[bubbuh]

As so many have, sorry, we need Obama. But, we do have this fellow named Michael Steele who is threatening to go hip hop all over our politics. He's sort of a buzzarro Obama. If interested send inquiries to the RNC.

[RachelMc]

[Canadians greeted a presidential visit from George W. Bush with 8,000 protesters. For President Barack Obama? They're selling T-shirts, and the conservative government is happy to see him.]

lol is this true? i feel kinda bad for bush at times and then i read the news to see what's happening to other americans.....

[Jinpachi]

Yes it's true. Ironically the same people I know who went to protest against Bush when he came are the ones who went to go and flag wave at Obama today.

[robokop]

Just give a few years to King Hussein Obama and a few trillion more dollars of debt and then new taxes, more body bags coming back from Iraq of the troops he promised to bring home(I think he ment Alive), Increased number of body bags from Afgan from King Hussein's war (will he break Russia body bag count of 15000?), and well into the King's Great Depression, then watch how many Canadians come out and protest his visits. Less than 100 days into the King's reign is far to early to judge how one is recieved into a country.

[PhoneBooth]

[gerontion72]

Interesting title. It seems to presume protectionism is (a) a bad thing and (b) feared by many or most.

The globalist bias of the media on display.

[oneeyedodin]

idjit

[bubbuh]

Thousands of people and nary an unfooted shoe.

[jackdale]

The other Reuters photo is great; a Haitian-Canadian head of state meets an Afro-American head of state.

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/articleslideshow?articleId=USTRE51G0YM20090219&channelName=newsOne#a=1

[TimeToPunt]

Ahem...that's "African-American," not "Afro-American."

[bubbuh]

says you

[bubbuh]

I don't think those collars will ever come due south.

[bubbuh]

The mounties are wearing their red uniforms. I'm excited!

[bubbuh]

http://www.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stream3&iref=lb100

non-stop coverage with no unnecessary voice-over

[bubbuh]

Nice very colorful crowd waiting , oh, so patiently in the cold.

[TimeToPunt]

I wonder what the mood would be if that was McCain or Palin walking down those stairs.

[hardybear]

Trepidation. And shoes at the ready?

[Roguewolf]

It begins.


An Oklahoma City police officer wrongly pulled over a man last week and confiscated an anti-President Barack Obama sign the man had on his vehicle.

Capt. Steve McCool of the Oklahoma City Police Department is seen in this file photo. McCool says an officer who wrongly pulled a man over last week and confiscated an anti-Barack Obama sign from his vehicle misinterpreted the sign as threatening.

The officer misinterpreted the sign as threatening, said Capt. Steve McCool, of the Oklahoma City Police Department, and took the sign, which read "Abort Obama, not the unborn."

Chip Harrison said he was driving to work when a police car followed him for several miles and then signaled for him to pull over.

''I pulled over, knowing I hadn't done anything wrong," Harrison said in a recent phone interview.

When the officer asked Harrison if he knew why he had been pulled over, Harrison said he did not.

''They said, 'It's because of the sign in your window,'" Harrison said.

[returnofthejedi]

Shouldn't you be on one of those right wingnut sites spreading that pile of garbage?

[TimeToPunt]

Can't threaten the life of the president, bub.

[Seven7s]

"Abort Obama, not the unborn."

That can be perceived as a threat. The officer did the right thing. Now that everything is cleared up and his intentions are made clear (Abort his presidency and not the president himself) there should be no problem,.

[Roguewolf]

What happened to liberals championing free speech. I saw a lot of threatening bumper stickers against Bush, bur never heard of anyone pulled over for it. I guess it is different under the "One".

[forpeace]

*

Nice poster

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/articleslideshow?articleId=USTRE51G0YM20090219&channelName=newsOne#a=2

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[Lion24]

CBC and CTV covering the Obama visit minute-by-minute.

CNN and MSNBC running GEICO commercials and covering car chases.

[TimeToPunt]

Car chase? Which channel?

[forpeace]

*
Lion24
-------
That's very sad ....... CNN just showed Obama's arrival!

I think at 2 pm Eastern time there is press conference, they might show that one.
*

[Erdgeist]

Canada is the least of our worries when it comes to free-trade. Our major problem is with China, but in particular, it is more with U.S. corporations who are producing goods in China and selling them in America.

When a U.S. corporation off-shores by shifting its production to take advantage of China's cheap labor it lowers US GDP and significantly adds to the US trade deficit not to mention adding to a poor American economy.

If you believe that U.S. corporations are the real problem and not Canada or China, you're on the right track. U.S. corporations are the ones fighting off a tariff and wish not to have the yuan decoupled from the dollar. If the yuan is decoupled from the dollar, the value of China's currency will go up at least 30 percent which will make imports also go up 30 percent. This will force U.S. corporations to stop off-shoring and return to these shores to hire American workers -- something they don't want to happen.

To be blunt, the real scoundrels who are abusing free-trade are U.S. corporations.

Source: http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2320.shtml

[ScandalousCandice7]

Oh we need to keep Canada close. They are sitting on more oil than all of the Middle East combined. Granted its all in sand, but we will devise a way to extract the sand and have raw oil.

At least that's how our govt. looks at it. Don't ever say Canada is useless to us. There is a reason for the Super Highway.

[bubbuh]

We're going to work it all out. The tar sand extraction process simply requires engineering improvement. If Germany could come up with artificial oil in the 1930's, we can figure out clean scrubbing technology.

[ScandalousCandice7]

Welcome to Canada Mr. President. We so glad to have a President from the U.S. who knows what he is talking aboot.

Hey Mr. Obama, how do you feel about hockey 'eh?

Let's talk about fair trade and your hoosing crisis 'eh?

I couldn't help myself.

[TimeToPunt]

I bet he eats donuts and back bacon, eh?

[ScandalousCandice7]

You know the thing is, Obama probably does know a fair amount about hockey. He so smart about just about everything he is talking about.

[forpeace]

*
ScandalousCandice7
-----------------
Sweet.
*

[bubbuh]

There are seven of you? Oh, my!

[returnofthejedi]

Seven times the stupidity.

[returnofthejedi]

7 x Bubbuh =

[ScandalousCandice7]

Surrender pronto... Or we'll level Toronto.

Canadian Bacon.

[daedelus]

I wonder if "Canadian Bacon" provided any inspiration for the Iraq war?

[TimeToPunt]

The first time I ate "Canadian bacon" I said, "WTF, this shlt's just ham!"

[daedelus]

I didn't know the Klan published a newsletter.