Roundup of Obama's Six Hours In Canada

Canadian welcome mat

From a Toronto Star blogger:

Obama waved to the crowd again as he was leaving Parliament Hill. When everyone realized the motorcade was heading east, hundreds of people ran in that direction to see if they could see him again. The snow is ankle deep and rough terrain from thousands of footprints, so everyone was stumbling and giggling as they ran. Then when the motorcade disappeard around the corner, there was another stampede to Wellington St. People were cheering and waving as it crossed onto Elgin St. To head back to the airport. Then when the frenzy was over, all you could see were people checking their cameras to see if they had the shot they had been hoping for, still gasping for breath from the run through the snow and cold air.

White House live blogging.

Obama's press conference with Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper. Obama said he didn't press Canada for more troops in Afghanistan:

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Obama needs a warmer coat:

Just like our pundits, Canada has theirs:
Obama makes Americans of all of us.
Enough with the Obamamania already.
See photos.

More photos
U.S. Canada Clean Air dialogue.
Story from CBC News Canada.

NYT story.

Washington Post story.

Obama signs the guest book

Of Course Obama is Progressive

Cass Sunstein explains Obama's pragmatism or if you're a cynic, you call them flip flops. 

TNR: IN the last few weeks, a number of people on the left have expressed disappointment with Barack Obama. Obama has said that the death penalty may be appropriate for child rape. He has applauded the Supreme Court's recognition of an individual right to own guns. He has voted for wiretapping reform that includes retroactive immunity for telephone companies. Having raised doubts about NAFTA during the primary, Obama recently said that he does not want to reopen negotiations unilaterally.

Perhaps because of Obama's strong and early opposition to the Iraq war, and because he has not been on the national scene long, some people on the left have projected their own views onto him. They think that his recent departures from left-wing orthodoxy are a form of flip-flopping or some kind of betrayal.

These objections miss the mark. Obama has not betrayed anyone. The real problem lies in the assumption, still widespread on both the left and the right, that Obama is a doctrinaire liberal whose positions can be deduced simply by asking what the left thinks.

Of course Obama is a progressive. From health care to assistance for low-income families to education to environmental protection, he emphasizes that Americans have duties to one another, and that government should be taking active steps to provide equal opportunity and to help those who need help. But, by nature, he is also an independent thinker, and he listens to all sides. One of his most distinctive features is that he is a minimalist, not in the sense that he always favors small steps (he doesn't), but because he prefers solutions that can be accepted by people with a wide variety of theoretical inclinations. read the rest.