Obama is not for free trade, he is not for capitalism, but he is a supporter of socialized profits for the banks? His policies are not consistent IMO and so he is more of an unknown then any president in previous history.

I think what America needed right now was a new Andrew Jackson type of character who could rain in the banksters as the new sheriff in town. Obama may have a history that could be blackmailed negating him from this role and we would never know about it.

I think Obama could potentially become the author of the most devastating war mankind has ever seen considering his comments on Pakistan. His position on Iraq was convenient politically with no responsibility, but with him making the decisions we just don't know how his ego could play into his history making decisions.

With all that said I sure hope that nothing ever happens to him, or we won't have a neighbor to the south to talk about anymore. Red state, blue state, the United States of America would ring hollow god forbid the unthinkable happens.

If the US builds a curtain around itself, rebuilds its economy and puts an end to two useless wars which cost 10 billion dollars a month - Canada will benefit immensely.

A trading partner whose finances are in order, whose citizens are working and earning good wages is vastly more preferable to Canada than the basket case we are looking at now and which is the result of 8 years of criminal warmongering and non regulated financial mis-adventure.

The beneficial effects of a new approach in US politics to the world should never be MISunderestimated.

Canada and our province is working on other trade options with India and China. The USA is not going to be our only and largest trade partner in the future anyway.

Regardless our nation trades very little finished products
We are an exporter of resources
If you are rebuilding your economy you need raw materials
My cousins will still be using us as a resource base

Not to be one upped by the Great Satan we Canadians should be looking for a Aboriginal candidate to run and win the job of Prime Minister. To bring our country together. Where are you Billy Two Shirts? And as an aside how long will I have to wait until some yahoo tells me that Harper is Obamas' lap dog? Nothing will change. Change doesn't come easy. People are creatures of habit. Just a matter of time before the real world wises up and puts the President down off his pedestal. I will wait.

This Southern election has definitely shown the complete lack of leadership in this country. People were visibly moved by what happened last night, and not just minorities. Could you see that type of emotion being shown up here for a sweater vest? We are in a political vacum right now in Canada and it the contrast was never as apparant as last night.

Eagleone I agree with you. If Obama walks away from Iraq and Afghanistan this whole area has the threat of growing into one, then duck.

People talk about change, what change? A black man was elected and a female was torn apart. So what changed? Mainstream media was out to lunch as usual and many people based their decisions on what they saw on SNL, wow.

I wonder if in twos years time we will find anyone who will admit voting for Obama. Hope I am wrong.

I think people's expectations of Obama are completely unrealistic. I wish him the best of luck, he now has the absolute worst job on the planet.

The mood of the Yanks to dis-associate themselves from George Bush reminds me of the electors in 1993 when the Conservatives with Lyin' Brian were reduced to two sitting MPs. Kim and that French guy. Kenya gonna be on the most favourite country list next year? Should be interesting.

Oh by the way Peter Mansbridge on the CBC last night was grinning like a cheshire cat when announcing and commenting on Obamas win. He didn't smile when Harper won. Does that speak volumes about the "Mother Corporation"? That just re-affirms my view of CBC.

Last night I watched the news broadcasts waiting for history to be made, and luckily it did. Now the next day instead of being glad that the right man was elected to run our neighbouring country, many of you can only think of how this is going to screw us. Obama is not perfect, neither are his ideas, but change is what is needed in their country as well as ours. I wish him the best of luck as he has the balls to take on a crumbling economy and a country that is losing credibility by the day. I am glad to see that the US has elected what could be the next Kennedy, it is now on us to also look for change and maybe we will be able to find and elect the next Trudeau.

Its amazing how many people in small town Prince George have such insight into the world, and especially US Politics, and can predict the future in regards to the effect this election will have in Canada even before the new administration takes office.

It was good politics on the part of Obama to knock free trade, however it is highly unlikely that he will do anything about it.
If he does why should we care? Didnt we all hate Mulrooney for this free trade debacle. Dont we all hate the Americans for not buying our lumber. Dont we want to get rid of the American control over our Country through their trading practices, or has all the whining and sniveling for the past few years about the Americans just so much BS.

I'm not that into politics but I'm smart enough to know the US needs a change. I think it will be good for them and us. It is time we started looking after ourselves and not relying on the good ole US of A. From what I have seen, Obama was the only option to vote for. When they stop fighting a losing war and try to rebuild the counrty they will be better for it. And that filters up here. We needed a change from the liberals (in Canada) and we have it. It isn't perfect, but it needed to happen. It is a pendulum swing. In a few years, we'll need another change, that's how it works.

Presdent Elect Obama is the best happening since the Kennedy era. I am surprised how uninformed many of the above comments are. The proof of the pudding will be in watching to see who is right. Nothing to do with race he is an American who happens to have dark skin.

Seamutt:"...If Obama walks away from Iraq and Afghanistan this whole area has the threat of growing into one, then duck."

Are we (Canada and the US) supposed to duck, and duck from what?

Afghanistan and Iraq have never attacked Canada or the US in the past, never.

They are the ones that have been attacked by outside invaders.

Unless we have made them really angry for revenge by attacking them and killing their women and children - going by past history we don't have to fear them.

BTW, it was the US that gave Sadam poison gas to kill others with and it was the US that armed the Afghans with Stinger missiles so they would drive out the Soviet Union.

Perhaps if we just left them alone some of this chit wouldn't have happened.

Lynn85 be careful what you wish for. Trudeau wreaked havoc on a once proud country and virtually destroyed us economically and militarily.

netsurfer, I am not Liberal but I disagree with your description of him. How in heaven's name did he wreak havoc on our country and destroy us economically and militarily? Facts would be helpful.

Coming from the east, I have learned a long time ago that mentioning the word Trudeau in the West is like waving a red cape in front of a bull.

Trudeau, Kennedy, Obama are cut from similar cloth. They are visionaries. They are charismatic.

The US needs someone like that after 8 years of living in the dark ages. The world needs it since the US has been a defacto leader of the western world in the post 2nd world war years.

It is time for the world to begin to manage its business with less direction setting from the USA. We need to trade with others. We need to diversify our economy. Putting too many eggs in one basket is never good. It is the path of least resistance. It will eventually come back to haunt you.

Both Trudeau and Kennedy knew when to be tough. Trudeau astounded everyone during the FLQ crisis and declaring martial law. Kennedy astounded everyone with the handling of the Cuban missile crisis.

Bush astounded no one with his handling of the World Trade Centre bombings. Shut the whole country down, started a war under false pretenses, and still has not got the main perpetrator. Talk about an utter failure.

McCain offered nothing different. Obama does. Will he succeed? Who knows. But he is a leader by example and inspiration of the 21st century, not a leader by might and fearmongering of the 19th century.

Very refreshing and true assessment, Gus! I would say that the days of empire building by military force have been history for a number of decades, only some leaders refuse to accept that.

I see where everyone on this site gets their news and information from mainstream media, big big mistake.
Diplomat about the attack on the US, the bad guys came out of Saudi, and were brainwashed and indoctrinated in Afghanistan. Now Afghanistan it self did not attack but harboured terrorist trainng camps. The US mainly went into Iraq to get rid of a murdering dictator and form a democracy in the region to balance out Syria and Iran. The mistake made was the US thought it would be a short war but civil war broke out as soon as the murderous regime was removed. This area of the world is a hot bed and always will be, no easy solution. If the free world pulls out of the area the threat is that the terrorist factions will form up and we will be dealing with them over here again.

Is it about oil, yes to a point but mainly about a way of life that we have become rather comfortably accustomed to.

Sorry, part of your assessment I subscribe to, the other parts are too complex to simplify them into the couple of sentences you compressed them into.

The terrorist factions will never cease to exist. They have moved to Pakistan. From there it is hit and run.

Is Pakistan next on the hitlist, Pakistan the nuclear power? Will it all end in a nuclear Armageddon?

The Iraq government lately has been demanding that all foreign troops leave its territory as soon as possible.

We coexisted for 50 years with a nuclear super power by the name of Soviet Union. It did not invade the West and we did not invade it to hunt down commies just because they might possibly become a threat to our comfortable way of life.

We did not even help liberate the people who rose up in some Soviet dominated countries like Hungary, East Germany and so forth!

There are many murderous regimes in this world and the West tolerates them and even trades with them if it is convenient - the Saudis for instance have no women's right and publicly behead people.

The mainstream media has convinced people that the reasons for Western warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan are just and necessary, altruistic and democratic.

I don't buy it! Obama will take the actions that are required to change whatever needs to be changed, hopefully.

It's all good we have the resources they want. Better put a hold on that natural gas export terminal them corporations want built in Rupert too.

Obama won't change anything that NEEDS to be changed. Wall Street didn't put him where he is to do that.

He's a 'tax and spend' man, and Wall Street financiers, the boys who literally "make money", love anyone who'll 'tax and spend', and especially anyone who talks about 'taxing the rich' to do it. (They themselves, can always "make money" to pay their taxes with.)

You see, the 'rich', those who've genuinely earned their wealth by actual effort and ability, don't keep their money in 'cash', they hold it in "ASSETS". Which are valued in 'money'. Taxes, however, are collected in 'money', not in 'assets'.

So when Mr. O begins levying taxes upon the 'rich', what do you think happens? The 'rich' have to borrow against or sell some of their Assets to pay them. And who provides the 'money' for either of those two things to happen? You guessed it.

And the control over real wealth passes into fewer and fewer hands. Which is the name of the game. Americans will get 'change', all right. Small change.

Ireland got rich having lower taxes than their neighbors. Maybe rich Americans will be looking for new places to invest their money if things get really bad down south?

Fortunately the Republican (Conservative) government of G.W. Bush had the infinite wisdom to lower taxes for the millionaires and billionaires, double the national debt and export several millions of manufacturing jobs to other countries.

If that is fine Obama can just leave everything as is.

When the poor have very little and the middle class is up to its eyeballs in debt it makes a lot of sense to get taxes from those who still have the ability to pay.

BO is inheriting one of the worst messes in recent history.

Is it possible to make a mess worse than the one GW leaves behind?

A pessimist would say yes, an optimist would say no way.

Seamutt the biggest mistake made by GW Bush IMO was the post war policy of the neocons to start Iraqi society from scratch in order to remake Iraqi society in their image. The result was looted museums, no police or security, no effective control over the country, no government capability, no hope for many people other than martyrdom.

The Iraqi army never should have been disbanded and instead should have been converted into a local ally. Sun Tzu in the Art of War says it is better to convert an enemy into an ally, than to use resources to occupy and rebuild from scratch. Instead the Americans set the Iraqi military all lose with no pay and all the skills and connections to form an effective gorilla campaign. Its almost the first law of warfare not to do that, but when you have 5th column agents making policy for a hidden fanatical agenda (as the GW administration had)... then rules, laws, and precedence matter very little.

Iraq I think was a manufactured diversion promising gold and fabulous wealth for the connected, but in reality was a quicksand trap of greed, lust for power, ego's, political opportunism all wrapped up in the lipstick of obtuse idealism in a way it could best be sold to an ignorant of truth patriotic base back in America. America loses wars for this reason unlike Canada... so far in history anyways.

War has to be just, and stand up to the light of truth to be successful... otherwise man will ensure it will always fail every time (one needs only to look at Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine for evidence of this). Man that feels he is oppressed by those who lack virtue will be motivated to fight for what they feel is right and good (its how Obama got elected). That is what IMO has happened to the United States and its standing in the world. America geo-politically through war mistakes, as well as financially through deregulation of the banksters, have not been at all in any way virtuous in their actions and thus are paying that cost now.

Diplomat I agree with that post. No argument from me on that one.

Actually one argument. The republicans and GW Bush are in no way conservative even if they make the claim they are in that ideological tent. Secret fascists maybe, possibly even populists, definitely corpocracy, but there is nothing that they have ever done that in anyways resembles true conservatism that I can see... unless you have specifics to back up your claim?

IMO conservatism is the majority in America, but the system is designed so that they don't have a national party of their own.

True enough, just like the Mulroney Conservatives were conservatives in name only: Annual deficits (one as high as 60 billion dollars) were regularly added to the national debt!

Today, of course, it ain't cool to mention it!

As for warmongering: To be NOT virtuous is one thing, to be addicted to criminal actions is another.

Diplomat:-"When the poor have very little and the middle class is up to its eyeballs in debt it makes a lot of sense to get taxes from those who still have the ability to pay."

That seems to be a popular conception. It is similar to the 'socialist' idea that the 'poor are poor because the rich are rich'. And in a creditary money sytem, just as erroneous.

Believe it if you will, but realize it doesn't change the fact that there is an enormous disparity between the 'price values' of the assets held by the "rich", and the total amount of 'money' already in existence from which any taxes levied on them supposedly will be paid.

The "rich", as I said previously, are not like Disney's 'Scrooge McDuck'. They don't have a 'Money Bin'. They have to "get" any money they'll pay those taxes with from those who have "money" ~ ultimately from those who actually "make" it.

And that puts the manufacturers of "money" ~ the bankers of Wall Street et al in a truly enviable position in the coming regime of Mr. Obama

In Canada if you earn over $65 000 dollars our government considers you rich. In the United States if you earn more than $265 000 dollars the government there considers you to be rich. Apples and oranges folks.

If you earn over $65000 a year, you can afford food, shelter, a car, some toys, maybe a nice tropical vacation.
Sounds pretty rich to me!!

This country has been going downhill since Trudeau and the Liberals were elected in ('68?) All those Liberal policies seemed like a good thing back then to me. I am not so sure now. Hell I liked the guy when he was in power, thought he was doing a lot of good. The older I get the less I know, so I figure any time now my will know absolutely nothing.
metalman.

IMHO, the key will be to see if Obama can turn the US around and get their foreign policy under control. At this point in time, I could care less about the semantics of free trade and whether Canada will have 5% growth vs. 3.5% growth (I'm just throwing numbers out here).

We don't live in a bubble and IF Obama can help stabilize things on the global scene it will directly impact Canada in a positive way. We can't ignore the fact that we live beside the United States and that we are still part of a world that has become increasnly de-stablized in many ways. That isn't good for anyone's business and long-term growth.

Metalman:"The older I get the less I know, so I figure any time now my will know absolutely nothing.
metalman."

That's usually what happens to those who already as teenagers knew everything there was to know!

From then on it's all downhill. I know.