Don Martin has a very interesting observation in this morning's National Post:

Mr. Obama’s massive fiscal stimulus has a preoccupation with tougher fuel emission standards, renewable alternatives, hybrid cars and assorted cleanup priorities, all aimed at putting the producers of dirty oil out of carbon-belching business. While Harper acknowledged late in the October campaign that economic revitalization and environmental renewal were linked concepts, he didn’t exactly dedicate his deficit to greening up the economy.

It is clear that Steve is no Barry but also that Barry is also no Steve. The conventional wisdom is that Canada faces a different problem from the US: we have dull if clever bankers, they have interesting criminals; we have resources we can't use up, they have us to send resources south; they allowed too much industry sent offshore, we have regional economic development agencies in Manitoba and New Brunswick competing for the same call centre. But we need them. Do they need us? Even if we are a model of stability due to 15 to 25 years of turn around, if was built on sales to one customer - the USA. So how can we now suddenly take a different path, even if our partner proposes taking the other way at this particular fork in the road?

There was a time when things weren't like this: it was always said that when the US sneezes, Canada got the cold. We were the mouse, they were the elephant. We stopped thinking like that. What happens if the elephant returns and it is painted green?