Barack Obama, Canada, Politics

The View From Up North: Obama v. Harper — Ready to Rumble

Why is Prime Minister Stephen Harper more powerful than President Barack Obama?

By  
on

TALE OF THE TAPE

Name: BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA II

Birthdate:  August 4, 1961

Birthplace: Honolulu, Hawaii (disputed)

Height:  6’1’’ with a slim, athletic build

Title:  Most Powerful Man in the Free World

Education:  B.A. (Political Science) from Columbia; J.D. from Harvard (magna cum laude, president of the Harvard Law Review)

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Party: Democrat

Little Known Fact:  None. POTUS is so heavily scrutinized that it’s almost impossible to keep anything hush hush

Sports: Pretty good lefty point guard. Loves his Chicago White Sox and Bears.

Speechmaking:  Love him or not, he’s a pretty darn good speechmaker. He knows how to rally his base supporters and tick off his enemies.

And now, in the other corner….

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Name: STEPHEN JOSEPH HARPER

Birthdate: April 30, 1959

Birthplace:  Toronto, Ontario (undisputed)

Height:  6’2” and slightly doughy

Title:  Prime Minister of Canada

Education:  B.A. (Economics), M.A. (Economics) from University of Calgary

Party:  Conservative Party of Canada

Little Known Fact:  Plays the piano and sings pretty well (lacks a bit of soul, but who doesn’t?)

Sports: Loves hockey, eh?

Speechmaker:   A bit like Al Gore back in the day when Al was a wooden, passionless speechmaker (Al has improved a lot, BTW)

Let’s be honest, who looks more impressive on paper?

The U.S. elected as POTUS a Harvard-trained lawyer who enjoys conventional sports. Canadians elected someone who graduated from U. of C. (a fine Canadian institution, but not Harvard) who enjoys watching a black disk get slapped around a frozen pond.

Mr. Obama is a lawyer — smart, charismatic, a pit bull. He understands human rights, constitutional law, and the finer points of lawmaking.

Mr. Harper is an economist — theoretical, academic, a thinker. He can draw supply and demand lines on a napkin to represent the elasticity of oil prices in a peak oil economy.

Everything POTUS does is newsworthy. He’s followed everywhere he goes. Reporters take pictures of him if he eats chicken fingers in a diner, drive-in or dive. The photos are splashed around the universe. When Mr. Obama speaks, the world listens. His speeches are dissected by people all over the planet, looking for clues on what direction the colossal United States might take on world issues.

Stephen Harper can eat poutine in the middle of a strip joint and no one would notice or care (unless President Obama was sitting next to him). Mr. Harper’s speeches barely register with the Canadian public, let alone the world. I can honestly say I can’t remember any Harper speech. Yet, I have watched President Obama give many, many speeches. I have seen many speeches by President Clinton and President Bush (both H and W). I remember Jimmy Carter as a youngster (me as a youngster, not him). I remember President Nixon. Canadians cried for JFK.

POTUS is a very prominent and important person to Canadians.

But, who is truly the more powerful person?  Surprisingly, it might be Stephen Harper. Prime Minister comes from the Latin, primo, meaning “number one” and, ministestere, meaning “dude who can tell you what to do”.

Mr. Harper currently has a majority government in Canada. That’s like having the red diplomatic plates on the back of your car. Harper can drive as fast as he wants through a school zone. He can park in a handicap spot and laugh as he strolls into the beer store. He can pretty much do what he wants.

Our Canadian Members of Parliament do not vote their conscience — and, by conscience, I mean, the way their sugar-daddy lobbyist tells them. The Prime Minister does not get on the phone to marshal votes. There is no pork-trading for votes.  An M.P. would never say, “I better get that bridge in Milton, Ontario or no vote for you, Mr. Harper!”

There are 307 Members of Parliament in our House of Commons. The Conservative Party has 162 sitting members (about 53%). Mr. Harper introduces a bill, it meanders through committee (controlled by Mr. Harper), and it comes back to the House of Commons. All 162 Conservative Party members say “Aye,” and the bill is passed. Game over.

Sure, we have opposition parties. They flap their arms and point out flaws in each piece of legislation. Canadians pretty much ignore them.

For good or for ill, our government can get stuff done. Canadians give a mandate, the government runs with it. Every four of five years (we don’t have set election dates), Canadians go to the polls and critique the government’s record with their votes.

Contrast that with Mr. Obama. If he doesn’t have a majority in the House and Senate, he is shooting from half court on every bill. Even if he has a majority in each chamber, there is no guarantee he can pass legislation. The “Most Powerful Man in the Free World” (MPMFW) is often reduced to the role of public relations guy, fighting for his legislation by direct appeal to the masses. My take is many lobbyists have more legislative power than POTUS.

Mr. Harper waves his magic wand at a piece of legislation, it gets passed. That’s power.

Because Americans love to perpetuate the “Myth” that POTUS is MPMFW, Mr. Obama always has to act that way. He must always look “presidential.” He can never show weakness. Thus, his ability to compromise with the Republicans is seriously compromised.  He can never do anything to hurt the Myth.

The Myth is more important to the American people than actual legislative effectiveness. In fact, POTUS might be America’s most important symbol — more important than mom, apple pie, Bald Eagles, Duck Dynasty, etc.

Put differently, I don’t think the American people would support a system where the president is a much more effective legislator, but loses his title as the most powerful man in the free world as a result. In other words, you don’t want Stephen Harper.

Now, if Mr. Harper ever reads this and gets a little cocky thinking, “I’m more powerful than POTUS, whoop, whoop!”, I would remind him of the football that trails POTUS wherever he goes.

One push of the button and Mr. Harper disappears with the rest of Canada into a poutine-soaked cloud of dust.

Perhaps, in the end, that is the real definition of power.

There’s your View from Up North.  Have a great week.

Steve Dykstra is a Canadian-trained lawyer and legal recruiter. He is the President of Keybridge Legal Recruiting, a boutique recruitment firm that places lawyers in law firms and in-house roles throughout North America. You can contact Steve at steve@keybridgerecruiting.com. You can also read his blog at stevendykstra.wordpress.com, follow him on Twitter (@IMRecruitR), or connect on LinkedIn (ca.linkedin.com/in/stevedykstra/).

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