Much of the news from Central Europe recently has been grim, with economic woes and, especially, the revival of Russia’s thirst for empire. But the real news is that so much of that blood-soaked territory has done so well and has moved so far toward a market democracy. It’s got a long way to go yet but the big surprise is not its failure but how well it’s done, especially given the post-revolutionary fears of failure.
Six years ago, Barack Obama’s victory march pulled the entire Midwest behind him, inhaling votes as he went. Almost every Midwestern state, even conservative Indiana, voted Democratic, providing much of the momentum that gave Obama the presidency. The Republicans held Missouri, barely, but nothing else.
That’s ancient history. What was blue in 2008 turned solid red in this week’s election. From Iowa to Ohio, Obama’s home turf joined in the nationwide Republican domination of senatorial, House and gubernatorial elections.
A recent Globe and Mail article referenced new survey data from Nanos Research/UB Survey characterizing a relationship “adrift” between Americans and Canadians. But a closer look at these and other polling numbers show that it’s not so much that Canadians and Americans are losing interest in cooperating. Rather, it appears that publics in both countries are feeling less threatened by security risks and are therefore less likely to support actions that focus on security and terrorism.
