Is Obama a bully?

I am starting to believe he is when it comes to dealing with Canada.

Protectionism and unfair trade arrangements were a significant worry to Canadian businesses when the Obama administration came to power.
Their fears certainly seem well justified now.

The ever "thickening" border with Canada is no accident.
On an almost daily basis new announcements are made about problems and delays at our border with the United States.
Just the other day yet another new American announcement was made about increasing searches of Canadian commercial vehicles for drugs.
The reason the Americans are slowing down commercial traffic from Canada is simple.
It acts as disincentive to buy Canadian and an incentive to buy American.
Buy making it slower, more expensive and more difficult to ship Canadian products to the United States they are indirectly subsidizing their own products.
The Mexicans have taken the Americans to court over American border trade practices.

The "Buy American" bill that is now in place is in direct violation of our free trade agreements with the United States.
The American business community says the "Buy American" legislation will cost the American taxpayer billions of dollars , put thousands of Americans out of work and will increase the duration of the recession by at least a year.
Not to mention totally screwing Canada.
Obama says he understands Canada's concerns and is gravely concerned about the negative impacts of the "Buy American" policy.
But I am starting to see what Obama is all about.
He says one thing and means another.
He has no plans to get rid of these policies.
In reality he will probably increase them.

The Americans now have instituted a new lumber subsidy to give preferential treatment to their lumber mills.
It uses a tax break for burning "black liqueur" which is a lumber mill byproduct as fuel.
What most people do not know is black liqueur only comes from old and outdated mills.
And there are one heck of a lot more old outdated mills in the United States than there are in Canada.
In reality its just a dodge to benefit American mills over Canadian ones without breaking the letter of the law.

The "dirty oil" from Canada's Tar Sands is yet another unfair trade scam.
It really has nothing to do with the oil being dirty to produce.
Virtually all the Tar Sands oil companies have now announced they will not be upgrading the heavy oil in Canada.
Instead the oil will now be upgraded in the United States.
Existing refineries will be upgraded and new ones constructed as needed in America.
The processors have been lured there with tax incentives.
So a heck of a lot of the jobs and the R&D to process Canadian Oil will now be in the States.
So we Canadians mine the oil, then Americans pipeline it, upgraded it, further refine it and then use the end product.
And now the Americans are going to screw us into a cap and trade program where Canada gets the blame for all the emissions resultant from said heavy oil usage.
This cap and trade program will see Canada paying the United States millions if not billions of dollars to take our oil.
And our jobs.
Neat trick.

So why do we put up with being treated like this?
Why don't we launch multiple legal trade actions against the United States?
Why don't we whip up protectionist policy after protectionist policy and welsh on all our existing trade deals?
Why don't we sell our products to others?

Because we will loose more than we gain is of course the answer.
Canadians were dumb I guess.

We believed in rule of law.
We believed a deal was a deal and a handshake counted for something.
We believed that signed, legal agreements like GATT and NAFTA would be honored.
Especially amongst friends and allies.

And now under the Obama administration we are getting screwed royally.
40% of America's exports go to Canada, over 80% of Canadian exports go to America so we cannot win a trade war.
And the Obama administration knows it.

Most of us realize that the Americans have a huge trade deficit.
The Chinese hold a mind boggling amount of American debt.
The trade problems the Americans have is with China and not Canada.
But China will not be bullied by the Americans.
It's too big and too strong.
In reality China holds so much American debt that it virtually owns the United States.

So when your being a bully you realistically have to pick on someone much smaller.
China is out for the Americans.
What to do? Lets pick on Canada and see if we can stiff them for a few billion in our time of need has got to be Obama's logic.

Canada put all its exporting eggs in one basket.
More fool us.
We need to pick our friends a little more carefully, or at least have a greater variety of friends in the future.

Trex

... if true, just hope he doesn't bully you like Bush did with Obama.

I still have high hopes for Obama, but right now it seems he has to look strong in front of his electorate. He's been getting hammered for looking weak internationally (I don't necessarily agree) and I think he's trying to change that image. For me, the honeymoon is over and I'd like to see some action.

''He's been getting hammered for looking weak internationally ''

Only by the right wingers. Throughout the world he has been voted the most popular leader in the world and has created the same type of rapproachment that Carter created.

A bully???

Based on his spineless reaction to the crisis in Iran, he is the second biggest wimp in American history. Next only tto the Nobel Piss Prize Winner, peanut brain, Jimminy Cricket Carter.

For me, the bloom is definitely off Obama. I especially like the tar sands plan. We pay to clean the dirty oil, then we get the privilige of selling it to the US, then get the hit for dirty carbon. The new boss is a lot like the old boss.

you forget that Bush never did anything about Iran or North Korea - but as always, it's

BLAME CARTER

BLAME CLINTON

BLAME OBAMA

BLAME THE DEMOCRATS !!!

gopher, I became an ideological Republican (obviously, being a Canadian I can not vote Republican) when I heard the key-note speech of Jane Kirkpatrick at the Republican convention in 1980.

Her key phrase was: "They always blame America first". Of course, she was speaking aboy Democrats. And, obviously nothing changed since then.

Democrats would place any terrorist above Dick Cheney. Or prefer a terrorist to Sarah Palin. Democrats would choose GW Bush to die before Ahmedinajad.

So, don't talk to me about blame.

... which is why Reagan called himself a Contra and why McCain supported them as well.

While I'm not blaming you, I do have a problem with the way you far right Canadians are even more selective in your criticism of Democrats than far right Yanks are. If you and others would only try to be fair and objective about it, you would admit that this is true.

All's fair in love and war gopher.

I don't get it -- recall a few years ago how the right wingers on this forum applauded when Bush invaded Iraq. But when the war started to go to hell, they all clammed up. Meantime Bush did nothing about Zimbabwe or other rigged elections or forms of repression in other countries.

Now those right wingers on this forum are having a field day attacking Obama for not taking action overeas. But why?

Who is going to pay for these adventures? Are the forum Canadian right wingers going to do so? Is Ottawa going to pay??

And as Canadians, why the hell don't they tell their own government to attack some government that they don't like? Why should we Yanks have to fight anybody else's battles?

How many times have you seen a Yank on this forum attack Ottawa for its foreign policies? We don't do so because what Ottawa does is its business, not ours.

Alls fair in war? Well, if forum right wing Canadians want a war, lets see them do their own fighting.

I guess we will find out if the "bully" as you put it decides to handle the NKorean ship with supposed cargo of short range missiles and nuclear waste. The NKs have said the boarding of any vessel by outside forces will be considered an act of war.
Obama just said we cannot spread our troops all around the world fighting in all these foreign wars. We will find out his intentions. Are we in for another 18yo draft system of recruiting... of all these kids who have been laying on the couch playing video games all their lives? Lord protect us from ourselves.
I'm sure Canada and Mexico are more than willing to fight. We could empty the prisons of all our "gangbangers". We could drop them far off in the jungle with a rifle and drop them ammo every two weeks. What do you think?

Only if we exchange ALL the Bush'es for Ahmedinajad.
Then we could throw in Palin and Cheney for GOOD measure and clear the country's conscience.

''Obama just said we cannot spread our troops all around the world fighting in all these foreign wars. We will find out his intentions.''

Why wait for Obama to do anything? Why not have Ottawa, Tokyo, or Seoul do something instead?

Because you're good at it and you enjoy it.

Well that and the fact that most Americans wouldn't know a Canadian foreign policy from a moose.

Why would they want that when the US is willing to do it and foot the bill?

Alls fair in war? Well, if forum right wing Canadians want a war, lets see them do their own fighting.

gopher,

The right wing is a minority in this country. There is no need to get your dick in a knot over some political ding bats who just like to bad mouth anybody who disagrees with their misguided views.

Now those right wingers on this forum are having a field day attacking Obama for not taking action overeas. But why?

Why only overseas, Gopher? Right winger will attack Obama for breathing. They attacked Obama for going on a date with his wife (perhaps they would have preferred if he had stayed at home and committed adultery like one of their own kind, Senator Ensign).

The instinctive reaction of a right winger is to criticize Obama. Indeed, if right wingers did not criticize Obama on any particular issue, I would be worried, that would mean that Obama is moving to the right.

So while they simply worshipped Bush (he was one of them, he was a Fundamentalist after all), they simply loath and detest Obama. Their criticism is meaningless.

Who is going to pay for these adventures? Are the forum Canadian right wingers going to do so? Is Ottawa going to pay??

Gopher, right now Obama is very popular with Americans (more than 60% approval rating). Right wingers obviously cannot battle him on issues. Their only hope is to try to take a short cut. That is why many of them are claiming that Obama is an illegal alien. They hope that Supreme Court would declare the election null and void, arrest Obama and deport him to Kenya or Indonesia. That will get rid of Obama in a short order.

Another short cut would be to hope that he embarks on a disastrous war abroad, whereby his popularity would plummet (like Bush’s did). That way they don’t have to battle him on issues, Obama will be unpopular in a short order and right wingers can win. Once they win control of House and Senate, of course they can promptly start impeachment proceedings against Obama.

They would like nothing better than Obama attacking Iran and getting bogged down in a long, protracted war in Iran, like their idol, Bush did in Iraq.

I agree Cliffy; they are a small, frustrated minority in Canada. Even their Messiah, Harper had to move to the centre right in order to win power.

However, they are in a majority in this forum and they make plenty of noise here. Personally if I were a right winger in Canada, I would move to USA. USA is just the right place for all kind of loony right wing nuts, in spite of the election of Obama.

But as I said before, they do serve a useful purpose. If I see them not criticizing Obama on any issue, I would know that Obama is wrong on that particular issue. Thus when I saw them criticize Obama for going on a date with Michelle, I knew that it was just the right thing to do.

I think the left wing is pretty nutty too. I think anybody who takes politics seriously needs to give their head a shake.

Good point cliffy.
Many of the regular posters should start shaking heads.

Some were open minded at one time but their minds fell out.

Obama is a Wall Street fascist puppet. What harm could possibly come from Wall Street?

Isn't it a little high handed to presume to advise people where they should or should not live?
Particularly if it is because they do not fit into a specific little box or political viewpoint that you individually have decided to espouse.

Do you think it is appropriate, for example, to insinuate that left wing moonbats
on this forum should be shipped off to socialist paradise's like Cuba to sped a few years cutting cane in a peoples work camp?

Possibly it would be more fruitful to spend more time defining yourself as versus trying to define others?

Debate and discussion is what its all about, isn't it?

Trex

Therefore spending more time bitching and complaining than carrying their load of the GDP and thus impeding progress as a whole.

"I think the left wing is pretty nutty too. I think anybody who takes politics seriously needs to give their head a shake."

And who could be nuttier than SirJosephPorter?

His inane generalizings. His equally inane exeggerations. His even more inane attempts at humour such as calling the duly elected Prime Minister of our country - disparagingly and disrespectfully - the "Messiah".

Or how about his sanctimonious lectures. Or his totally misguided opinions and shameless name-callings of about anything and anybody on the right of Joe Stalin.

Or how about his obsession about any and all conservative/Republican shortcomings, but giving wide pass to all liberals/DemocRATS for doing the same.

Or how about his ignoring the latest poll in the U.S. which showed that conservatives outnumber liberal 2 to 1. Totally the opposite in numbers on this forum, where liberal outnumber conservatives by about the same ratio.

Too bad politics is merely for entertainment purposes. Hollywood falls a far second to Wall Street when it comes to producing what you see on screen and print but it effects and mandates your entire life.

Obama's gutless fence-sitting about the disputed Iranian elections is totally consistent with his countless, gutless and typically spineless "PRESENT" votes in the Illinois State Senate and the United States Senate.

Isn't it a little high handed to presume to advise people where they should or should not live?
Particularly if it is because they do not fit into a specific little box or political viewpoint that you individually have decided to espouse.

And just exactly where did I say that, Trex (where did I tell anybody where they should live)?

Or how about his ignoring the latest poll in the U.S. which showed that conservatives outnumber liberal 2 to 1. Totally the opposite in numbers on this forum, where liberal outnumber conservatives by about the same ratio.

Yukon Jack, is that the same poll which showed an approval rating for Obama at 63%, approval rating for Democratic Party around 45% (I don’t remember the exact figure), and Republican Party approval at 28% (significantly lower than the Democratic Party)?

That is all politics is Petros, entertainment. It makes for a great discussion.