CANADIANS LOVE OBAMA!!!

President Obama is welcomed to Canada by Governor General Michaelle Jean and a contingent of Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (White House/Pete Souza)

Dear Readers, it warmed the cockles of my heart to see those photographs of our president visiting the land of my birth -- Canada. And when I saw the photo of the Royal Canadian Mounties saluting President Obama and Governor General Michaelle Jean -- and they looked genuinely happy to meet and talk with each other -- it did bring tears to these 59-year old eyes.

Here’s an excerpt from an article in the Toronto Star:

OTTAWA – The first black president of the United States and Canada's first black Governor General knew theirs was a historic encounter – and they appeared to revel in it from the moment they met Thursday.

Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean was the first of a handful of Canadian dignitaries to greet Barack Obama as he stepped off Air Force One onto Canadian soil for the first time as U.S. president.

"You would never have imagined that you and I could both be here like today, coming from African descent," Jean was quoted as telling the president as they began what insiders described as "soft and warm" exchange.

A Jean aide said the poignancy of the moment was not lost on either of them and may have given the pair "a form of added connection."

The two held an animated conversation on the tarmac that went beyond the formal dictates of protocol before the president was introduced to the other dignitaries, including Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and Canada's ambassador to the United States, Michael Wilson.

An Obama quip had Jean leaning back, laughing and throwing an arm around the president's back as they strode side-by-side into the reception centre for a private chat.

Jean's spokeswoman Marthe Blouin said "at that moment she was telling him that she felt it was like a love affair between him and Canadians."

"He said to her that he knew that, that he'd been informed that he was very popular in Canada. Then he joked and he added, 'Well, it's good to know because if things do not go well for me in the States, I know I can come to Canada.'

Vive la différence!!!

Was there such warmth during Bush’s visits?

Ah ... you forget too soon:

A top aide to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien resigned on Tuesday after nearly a week of political tension over a remark she reportedly made about the president of the United States being a "moron".

Françoise Ducros, my hero.

Back a year ago, Ms. Manitoba wrote in this here blog about why she supported Obama and what she thought would happen if he got elected:

• this may be one of the most important things ... his election will say something very important to the rest of the world - “We want change and did not agree with the policies that came before. We did not agree with the arrogant attitudes that came before. We want to be a true citizen of the world and not a bully.”
  

'nuff said.

Here are some more photos ...

U.S President Barack Obama (left) and Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean walk across the tarmac following his arrival in Ottawa, Thursday Feb. 19, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

4 year-old Benjamin Faulkner holds a sign as the U.S President Barack Obama drives past a goup waiting to catch a glimpse of his limo on Colonel By Drive in Ottawa on the Rideau Canal Thursday morning in preparation of U.S President Barack Obama visit to talk with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Feb 19, 2009 in Ottawa. (ANDRE FORGET / SUN MEDIA)

Supporters of U.S. President Barack Obama wave as his motorcade arrives Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his first foreign trip as president. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Supporters of U.S. President Barack Obama stand next to a snowman on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Thursday, Feb., 19, 2009. President Barack Obama will meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his first foreign trip as President. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Merlin Cain, from Toronto, awaits the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama, on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009. President Barack Obama will meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his first foreign trip as President. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

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