Why talk about the U.S. election?
Because what happens south of the border matters. Not just to Americans but to the whole world. The United States economy is the largest in the world and dominates world economic stability. Just witness what the meltdown in 2008 did worldwide.
The United States also spends more on its military than any other country - by a long margin. But it also accepts more than a million immigrants each year. It is a first world economy, relying primarily on the export of high tech and manufactured goods while importing raw materials and natural resources.
And like it or not, it is the one remaining "super power" in the world.
The United States is the world's leader and it is only a slight exaggeration to say that the president of the United States of America is the most powerful person on the planet.
Sadly, this is a truth Canadians have to live with. We are closely linked with the United States through economic and social ties. As the American economy goes, so goes Canada.
They are our largest trading partner.
Indeed, it can be argued the United States and Canada have the single largest bilateral trade relationship in the world with each country having about $300 billion annually in imports and exports from each other. If you consider that the Canadian gross national product is $1.8 trillion, this relationship accounts for one dollar in every six within the Canadian economy.
So, what happens with the presidential election will impact the Canadian economy especially as both candidates have now espoused isolationist or protectionist views. In her acceptance speech, Hillary Clinton said "If you believe we should say 'no' to unfair trade deals... then you should join us."
The question was left as to what constitutes an "unfair trade deal," of course, but Clinton seems to have lost interest in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Ironically, as Secretary of State, she once touted the deal as the "gold standard" in international agreements, highlighting the many benefits which would be enjoyed by the American people and businesses.
On the whole, though, Clinton's acceptance speech was much more stately and truthful than Mr. Trump's. Or to quote Clinton, "he spoke for 70-odd minutes - and I do mean odd."
She went on to say "And most of all, don't believe anyone who says: 'I alone can fix it.' Those were actually Donald Trump's words in Cleveland."
In an election built on innuendo, misquotes, and cherry picked interpretations amongst the Republicans, she really nailed this one as Trump really did say "Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it."
The Donald later tried to fix the issue by saying he didn't mean he would do it all by himself but it was too late to stop the political spin.
If anything, trying to fix such statements just adds fuel to the fire.
In any case, Clinton speech went after a number of issues - such as Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again." She pointed out that America has always been great. It is still leading the world.
Interestingly enough, the U.S. News surveyed and analyzed the "best countries in the world" and Germany came out on top. The United States was fourth on the list. Canada was second and first for quality of life).
It is hard to argue that the United States is not a world leader or a great nation. Certainly the Donald's repeated litany of economic woes is not borne out by the facts. And it doesn't help that he has sourced much of the merchandise he sells under the Trump brand from other parts of the world. Ties manufactured in China and suits sewn in Mexico are not helping with creating jobs at home.
On the other hand the "Make America Great Again" baseball caps worn by Trump and his supporters are U.S.-made, along with some of his other products.
Clinton also defended President Obama on the economy saying "our economy is so much stronger than when [he] took office. Nearly 15 million new private-sector jobs. Twenty million more Americans with health insurance. And an auto industry that just had its best year ever."
True if you fudge the numbers a little.
The number of new jobs is accurate if you start counting from February 2010, a year after Obama took office. And total car sales was 17.5 million in 2015, beating the previous high of 17.3 million in 2000 and a low of 10.4 million in 2009. But growing foreign market share suggests sales figures might not be a good metric.
In any case, Hillary Clinton's acceptance speech came across as presidential. And although we can't vote in the United States election, we can certainly cheer her on. For our own sake.
