Angry in the Great White North

From the Liberal Party website, the announcement that Dr Howard Dean, the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, would be the keynote speaker:

Liberals announce Keynote speaker, theme of Convention
November 10, 2006

Montreal -The Liberal Party of Canada today is pleased to announce that the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Governor Howard Dean, will give the keynote address at the Party's upcoming Leadership and Biennial Convention. Governor Dean will be speaking to delegates, alternates, observers, and the attendees on the evening of November 29, 2006, at approximately 8:20 pm (EST).

Governor Dean was elected Chairman of the Democratic Party in early 2005. Since that time, he has worked to strengthen the grassroots of his Party. His leadership has been centered around a "50 state strategy" that focuses on building his Party in every state in the country. Under his leadership, the Democratic Party has rebuilt its infrastructure and shifted its fundraising strategy towards small donations from engaged supporters. Just this week, he led his Party to a clean sweep of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate, the majority of Governorships and state legislatures.

"We are proud to have Gov. Dean address our Party. Aside from our obvious affinity with the Democratic Party, Liberals are excited to hear the Chairman's views on a modern democracy and the role of the Democratic Party in the new U.S. political environment. And the timing couldn't be better," said Steven MacKinnon, General Secretary of the Convention.

What? I guess with Michael Ignatieff ineligible to be keynote speaker on account of his running for the leadership of the Liberal Party, Canada's natural governing party had to find another American to kick of this Canadian political event.

OK, that was a bit of a cheap shot.

Anyone out there think the Democratic Party will reciprocate and let Liberal Party President Mike Eizenga deliver the keynote address at the next Democratic Party convention, you know, because they think Canadian opinions on the role of democracy matter?

OK, that was another cheap shot.

But this isn't. What do you think Dean is going to tell Canadians that will somehow be of value? Consider Dean's deep thinking on the matter of Canada-US relations:

Montreal, Quebec, Canada: U.S. relations with Canada have gone through some tough times under the Bush administration. How do you feel you can repair relations between the U.S. and their neighbor to the north, and for that matter the whole international community?

Howard Dean: I have a long standing relationship with Canada both because my kids have spent numerous weekends playing hockey there and because I have appeared on Canadian talk shows many times. Repairing our relationship with Canada requires the same solution that repairing our relationships with the rest of the world requires, and that is the removal of a president whose arrogance and contemptuousness for others overrides the respect that is necessary between parties to conduct international relations.

So Howard Dean's suitability to speak to a Canadian audience is based on...what? His kids played hockey in this country in some tournament once? And that he had talked into a camera from inside an American TV studio for a telecast that was broadcast north of the border?

For that he gets to deliver the keynote address to the Liberal Party?

But put that aside for a moment. Does Howard Dean have a special interest in Canada? Does Howard Dean have a unique message to deliver to Canadians based on his "long standing relationship"? His fix for the problems between Canada and the US is...to get rid of George W Bush. But then his fix for the problems between Russia and the US is...to get rid of George W Bush. And his fix for the problems between Namibia and the US is...to get rid of George W Bush.

That's deep thinking, Democrat-style. But is it too complex for members of the Liberal Party to understand, I wonder. Well, if it looks like the audience is losing track of Dean's complex political thinking and their attention begins to wander, he can always scream at them.