TELLING IT LIKE IT IS – AT 9:18 A.M. ET:  Canada's Steve Harper is one of our favorite foreign leaders.  He's everything an American president should be.  Naturally, Obama has dissed him whenever possible.  Harper can diss back.  Cheers.  From The Hill: 

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said President Obama "punted" the decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

But Harper said he remains confident it will be built.

Harper commented on the $5.4 billion project during a conversation hosted by Vancouver Board of Trade chief executive Iain Black, the Calgary Herald reports.

Black began asking Harper about the pipeline, saying Obama had rejected it when Harper interjected.

"No, he's punted," Harper said of Obama on Monday. "He said 'maybe'"

"It's my hope that the administration will in due course see its way to take the appropriate decision, but that's obviously a political process in the United States," Harper said.

The controversial pipeline proposed by TransCanada would run from the oil sands in Alberta, Canada to refineries in the Gulf Coast

"The good news is that on both sides of the aisle, in both political parties, in both houses, and throughout the American economy and public, there is widespread support for the project," Harper said.

"I am confident that in due course the project will, in one way or another, proceed," he added.

Stakeholders are awaiting the State Department's highly anticipated final environmental impact statement of the pipeline, which has garnered some scrutiny. It is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

COMMENT:  Nothing like damning with faint praise.  Like other American allies, Canada has learned that Congress, not this president, has the wisdom in foreign policy.  While Harper gave the required lame defense of Obama, his feelings are clear.  Obama is the obstacle, not the catalyst. 

Canada will, in the end, always be with us.  There were some exceptions in the cases of recent left-wing prime ministers, starting with the awful Pierre Trudeau.  But Canada right now is lead by a truly great leader.  I only wish he had the same relationship with the American president that Ronald Reagan had with Brian Mulroney.

January 7, 2014