Celebrating Obama

There is a presumption that during the American election the Liberal party was supporting Obama while the Conservatives were supporting McCain. On pure ideology this may have been the case for many people. In Canada the Conservatives Party are the big winners in the wake of the Obama victory.

One of the most lingering complaints directed at Harper is that he makes decisions to line himself up with Bush. It was convenient way for opponents to attack the government without the bothersome task of evaluating the policy. Government policy will now need to be evaluating on it's own merit as opposed to how it alligns with US policy. The classic example is that Harper was accused of being against Kyoto because Bush was against Kyoto. Obama is also against Kyoto.

This is a major shift in Canadian political discourse. Not much has changed in how the Conservatives are going to govern. A lot has changed in how their policies will be perceived by Canadians.