Last night, the Canadian voters elected a new Prime Minister.

Our new PM is unique. I do not know many other world leaders who would describe their nation as being "second rate". He appears to be a dull and humourless man entirely lacking in empathy or compassion. He does not seem like the kind of guy you would want to sit down and have a beer with on the back deck.

If he feels passion for anything at all, it would be for neo-conservative economic policies. He stated during the election that "all taxes are bad taxes". He wants to transform the way Canada is governed, largely by taking money and power away from the Federal government and handing it to the provinces. The only government program he wants to expand is the military. He firmly believes that this is in everyone's best interest. He is a believer.

He has no foreign policy experience. He has not travelled much outside of Canada. He would like our military to travel though. He would have sent our military to die in Iraq if he had been the leader at the time.

Many Americans are embarassed because of their leader, and the policies he has pursued. I know and share their shame.

I only hope that this government does not last long enough to enact it's corrosive policies.

I have a simple (I hope) question to anyone who cares enough to read this:

Why would the people of the United States re-elect George W. Bush? As someone who lives outside of the US, it seems to me that he has damaged his own country - both domestically and internationally. He has turned surplus into record deficit, he has presided over a net loss of jobs, his tax cuts benefit only the very wealthy leaving the middle class entirely responsible for paying off the deficit and the existing government debt. More people are living below the poverty line, fewer people have health insurance. How many people (apart from the very wealthy) are better off today than they were before he got elected?

His appears to be a pretty poor record, and we haven't even touched on foreign policy yet...

I don't think that is a record anyone would be proud of.

So why is he going to be re-elected?