Disappointing

Over the course of the fall, I was very impressed by Paul Martin's grasp of the strategic challenges posed by the economic development of China and India. Obviously influenced by Thomas Friedman's recent best-seller "The World is Flat", Martin spoke in considerable detail on more than one occasion about how Canada must respond to the emergence of China and India as competitors and markets (see here for an example).

That's why it was so disappointing to me to see Martin cavorting with Senator Buzz Hargrove, as Tory campaign chair John Reynolds refers to him, last week. If there is anyone who is ignorant about the challenges of competing in the global economy, it is Hargrove. (I don't think the protectionist and vociferously anti-free trade Hargrove even WANTS to think about what Chinese and Indian growth means to his membership and the Canadian auto sector more broadly.)

I thought Martin was smarter than that - perhaps I should have known better. After all, we're in an election campaign. In any case, any chance there was of me casting my ballot for Martin was significantly reduced the moment he put on that CAW jacket as presented to him by Hargrove.

Canada deserves better from Paul Martin.

(For more analysis of the Chinese and Indian reforms and the impact they are having, see here and here.)