The Brampton Guardian

Elections are not new things to North Americans and while Canadians might think that sometimes elections can get pretty rough here, our elections are nothing compared to the current American presidential electioneering. The American election is sometimes uplifting and sometimes down right vicious with candidates kept running facing down old rumours and comments made by pastors, supporters and family members.

In Canada, we are used to a minimum 36 day election period with election posturing going on all the time. In America, including the primaries, caucuses and election posturing, electioneering has been going on since October 2007. By the time the American election is finally over on Nov. 4, 2008, it will have lasted 14 months.

If Americans seem to be weary of the hurly burly of this extended campaign and if they seem to be leery of the claims and counterclaims, rumours and downright nasty attack adds and commentaries going on within the Democratic Party and in the media, notably the electronic media, then you really can't blame them for feeling that their vote doesn't mean a lot.

Although the campaigning is going full tilt, the American election really doesn't start until both parties select their presidential candidates-- the Democrats in August and the Republicans in September. From that date on, the American election will really become mean and vicious as competing ideologies vie for the hearts and minds of Americans. On election day Nov. 4, Americans will elect their president, 35 senators and all the 435 members of the House of Representatives. It's a big deal.

It's a really big deal for Canadians as well, since the future of NAFTA may be at stake depending on who wins. The North American Free Trade Agreement is the backbone of our trade deal with the U.S. All of Canada has benefited by NAFTA, especially Ontario and Quebec where the auto pact has established a North American production zone. But things are hard for working people in the U.S. with unemployment and mortgage foreclosures, illegal immigration and cheap labour, dependence on foreign oil from the Mid-East and cheap goods from China and the lack of dependable health plans to protect people if they get sick or even if they need to see a doctor. The Democratic front runners have pressed the magic button in the industrial states by calling for a re-negotiation of NAFTA. What that means is anyone's guess but whenever America sneezes, we catch cold.

But this election is not only about economic solutions, it is about where America is headed in the early part of the 21st century. It doesn't appear that there is much patience for the status quo. Opinion polls show that Americans have grown disillusioned with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and have no patience for the current administration in Washington. Such is the political weariness of a nation facing many difficult challenges. As interested observers, we can sympathize with the 'ennui', the world-weariness, Americans feel, but we know that this election will not only affect them but people all over the world.

If Americans elect a Republican majority to Congress and elect a Republican as president, they will continue their policies and minor changes will happen as they continue to tweak government. For Canadians, that means that NAFTA remains the main economic driver in North America and American foreign policy remains constant.

The 2008 American Election-- a Canadian dilemma?
Friday April 18 2008

By Terry Miller

If the Democrats win, depending on the candidate, then a major shift will occur in foreign policy and the American economy. Depending on the Democratic candidate, the new president will embark on changing the profile of the United States around world. How that will play out for Canadians is anybodies guess.

Canadians are not active participants in the American election but we are not passive bystanders either. We have much to lose or much to maintain. There is still a long way to go before the Republican and Democratic conventions in September and August. The Republicans, having virtually selected their presidential candidate, can wait to see if the Democrats rend themselves apart at the Democratic convention. The Democrats may find a ticket that unites them and if they do, they may capture the American government and a different American reality may emerge.Whichever party wins, Canadians will need to meet the political challenges that come with a new administration.