it might seem stupid to personalize the war on a domestic level, but i think this ties very heavily into his perception of canada's involvement in the last iraq conflict. remember when he claimed he was "embarrassed"? i don't doubt that that's a legitimate feeling. most canadians look back on this decision to not involve ourselves with pride, and obama himself has been clear that he feels it was an error. that disconnect is not likely to affect him. rather, i think what harper is doing is trying to make it seem like he's personally responsible for canada "delivering" - as though it's a business deal. he's ultimately more concerned about what american defense planners think of him than he is of what canadians think of him. and he takes the nato alliance far more seriously than any previous prime minister ever has.

that very, very serious attachment to the principles of nato is something that is common across his foreign policy - as is this desire to present canada as a special, reliable partner to american defense interests. it's not something canadians have ever leaned towards on any serious level. you'd have to go back to before the arrow to even have the discussion exist, and you'd have to go back that far to really understand how he's thinking.

these are accusations that are as old as harper's time in politics is. they kind of went away. but the panel is maybe expressing more surprise than it ought to be.