–Erik Heinrich

     Last Thursday, on his first foreign visit, Barack Obama went to Ottawa, Canada’s capital. As an expat I was keen to hear what other Canadians had to say about the event in view of the credit crisis, Afghanistan and Obama’s statements on foreign oil. What next of clean energy and the latest goals on carbon emissions? But, once again, Canadian journalism let me down. Let me explain.

     In a piece entitled “Not to worry, substance trumps charisma” academic and journalist Norman Spector didn’t bother with the pressing issues Canadians are concerned with. Instead, he positioned himself in the long line of columnists who seem more interested in convincing the reader of their superior character, experience and intelligence than offering something substantial to mull over.  

     For example: “Given where he started in life, Obama may well have felt more comfortable in the company of Jean Chrétien or Brian Mulroney, both of whom came from working-class families”. The ridiculous inference here is that Obama, unlike the author, is uncomfortable in the company of accomplished men.

     He takes this further when he claims: “Barack Obama would not be where he is today had the elite U.S. universities like Columbia and Harvard not implemented affirmative action programs for the talented members of racial minorities.” This impossible-to-prove and insulting suggestion smacks of Geraldine Ferarro’s statement during the primaries that Obama would not have been so successful as a white man. 

     Instead of using his 700 words and vast experience (and, presumably, knowledge) to offer some critical analysis, in-depth historical reflections, or philosophical inquiry, Spector’s column is full of the kind of vague un-illuminating statements you expect from average politicians: “The day went almost perfectly for Canadians and Americans, which was all that was important.” It skims over biographical and historical details as if the author’s opinions don’t require explanation. So the reader is left to wonder why we are “fortunate to have Ignatieff in the wings”.

     As a well-educated former Chief of Staff to a Canadian Prime Minister, I expect him to engage in some of the critical issues that Canadians are concerned with. As a journalist, he has a responsibility to.

A far better article on Obama’s visit can be found in Time.

     Mr. Burris, a lobbyist and former Illinois Attorney General, has this weekend to decide whether or not he will resign his post as Junior Senator. But he has already had seven weeks. And he seems to have made his decision.

     Governor Pat Quinn, who appears to have the patience of a saint, said:  ”I would ask my good friend Senator Roland Burris to put the interests of the people of the land of Lincoln first and foremost, ahead of his own, and step aside.”

     Six weeks ago criticism from his colleagues didn’t stop Roland Burris trying to take his seat after being barred from the Senate. In the land of Lincoln the only black Senator believes he is entitled to ignore the public, ethical considerations, his colleagues, the President. In other recent examples, this alarming sense of entitlement was evident in Caroline Kennedy’s ill-informed bid for Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat, and, indeed, Hillary’s run for the Democratic nomination.

     Peter Slevin remarked in the Washington Post:

The junior U.S. senator who thought he was crowning his pioneering career with a position at the political pinnacle finds himself fighting to save both his job and his reputation.

     In another tremendous show of ego, Burris, 71, has created a mausoleum to commemorate his life as a “trail blazer”. Nowhere is it mentioned that he hasn’t been elected for public office since 1990. But he left room for future achievements.

      Most people would have you believe that the world is quite ready, in fact poised, to see American domination’s chapter in history closed for good. They are already drawing comparisons with Rome: the lascivious excesses, the sometimes anarchy of the “first” democracy.

     Yet I haven’t seen any evidence stronger than cultural metaphors to suggest this. Despite incredible debt, the States is in a better financial state than a lot of Europe and unemployment, though rising, is only at 7.6%. America’s influence is stronger than ever. Despite what a lot of pundits would have had you believe only a year ago, it turns out that no-one is looking to China.  

     So it falls that the most difficult job, the most criticized job, was hard fought and won by a brilliant man.  Today, according to that rather arbitrary measure of things to come, he is a quarter of the way through his first hundred days. And so we keep on counting: days, dollars, sense.

The best piece of journalism about Obama’s election: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11072008/watch.html

Unemployment in the US in January: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

–Ciara Trudeau