4:53 PM Macleans.ca – Paul Wells, Andrew Coyne and Scott Feschuk will be your guides this evening. Check back often
So I know it’s not my country and I know I don’t get a vote, but for several years there I wondered whether all these people who claimed to talk on America’s behalf were getting that country wrong — or I was.
Tonight I heard from the America I grew up with, the America I love. I have been critical of Barack Obama as a candidate and my hopes for him as President are not sky-high. But in the end he was better than the alternative and he can hardly help but be better than his predecessor. And his country took an ennobling step forward by choosing him.
“You walk into the voting booth and each time you pull the little lever there is implicit in the gesture a tiny leap of faith,” Anna Quindlen wrote — in 1992, a detail which stands in retrospect as a handy lesson in the limits of optimism. “And this time some hope as well.”
“I look forward to meeting with the President-elect so that we can continue to strengthen the special bond that exists between Canada and the United States.
“In the weeks and months ahead Canadian officials and diplomats will be working closely with members of President-elect Obama’s transition team. Ministers in our government look forward to building a strong working relationship with their counterparts in a new Obama cabinet.
“I would also like to congratulate all incoming Members of Congress and Governors. Given the challenges facing the world economy, it is vital that Canadian and American legislators continue to work together on the important issues facing families on both sides of the border.”