PM's pro-Israeli tilt could cost him at polls

[CHIMO]

Stephen Harper reminds me of the late King Fahd, of the American puppet state of Saudi Arabia, who was said to be more American than the American president.

By falling in lockstep with George W. Bush, the Prime Minister is either displaying his ideological commitment to the president or trying to please him, at any cost — from Afghanistan to Israel. Either way, he is compromising Canadian sovereignty and our reputation for even-handedness, as well as exposing our soldiers to grave risk in the questionable Afghan mission.

To be fair, Ottawa's pro-American tilt began under Paul Martin. But Harper is "out-bushing Bush," as Opposition Leader Bill Graham says.

Whereas several G8 leaders thought of the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon as outrageously disproportionate, Harper found it "measured."

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1153345815626&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795

[Spazito]

1. Excellent column, imo, it is fair and balanced with regard to the crisis

and absolutely correct, as well, as regards Harper.

Edited to add: I had totally forgotten Joe Clark's political faux pas re the Embassy and the furor it caused. I don't think Canadians' thinking has changed since then and Harper's position is causing the same furor.

[gula]

2. Only last evening I said to my sister

(who is 99% anglo-phone) that Harper just pissed away most of the goodwill he has been working so hard to acquire in Québec.

"Quebecers tend to be more pro-Palestinian than English Canadians. That the Canadian family killed in Lebanon was from Montreal, and that most of the stranded Canadians there are from Quebec, can only add to that sentiment."

What he doesn't understand is that unlike him, most every Lebanese speaks beautiful french. In a French speaking town where I hear more and more english spoken on a daily basis, these things do matter.