President Obama Could Have Been Like Justin Trudeau

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada listen to the national anthem of Canada during the State Arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, March 10, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Dahlia Lithwick, Slate: Hope and Change, Canadian Style

For President Obama, hosting Justin Trudeau must have felt like seeing the Ghost of Elections Past.

The first thing I noticed, standing on the White House lawn Thursday morning to welcome Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, was the absence of bagpipes.

Where the heck are the bagpipes? Don’t Canadians always travel with bagpipes? I know I do.

The next thing in evidence: Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau. In Canada, she is allowed to have a hyphenated last name. How late 20th century! The first lady with two last names hasn’t been permitted here in Washington since, well, you-know-who tried it.

But most of all, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that Trudeau is now in the exact place where President Obama used to be. And that both of them find this very confusing. Many, many pixels will die today, skimming over the surface of Trudeau’s visit. His good looks (which are good) and the baby toss on the White House lawn (which was delicious) and the Canadian designers sported by Michelle Obama and Grégoire-Trudeau at the state dinner. And also baby Hadrien (because swoon). But all of that is beside the real point. Which isn’t so much that the two men are in love, as that Obama gets to see what might have been, had he been allowed to just be.

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WNU Editor: Too early to make any predictions on what is going to happen in Canada. And while the Trudeau government is enjoying a honeymoon with the media and a good part of the Canadian electorate .... it should be noted that he was elected into power with only 39% of the vote and against a government that had become deeply unpopular. But I do know one thing .... if his plan to explode the deficit and to accommodate all the special interests that he promised he would take care of if he was elected do not pan out .... his popularity would quickly plunge and match that of another U.S. President whose father was also a leader of his country .... namely one George Bush.