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Those crazy Canucks! If they can elect a snowboard instructor, who’s to criticize the U.S. if it picks a combination real estate huckster/carnival barker for president?

Trudeau’s only worry is that he outshines Obama in his own home. Seven years ago it was Barack Obama who was the cool, charismatic, hope-filled young leader who was going to turn politics on its head and make America great again, to borrow a phrase. It hasn’t worked out quite as expected, so Americans can be forgiven if they look north and see Trudeau as Obama Part Deux, another opportunity to hope against hope that politics is possible without all the lies and sleaze.

Trudeau’s record to date won’t matter to them much. In truth, as the prime minister arrives in Washington his book of campaign pledges is pretty much in tatters:

We’ll limit the deficit to $10 billion. Uh, nope. It’s going to be more like $18 billion to $25 billion.

We’ll balance the budget by the end of our first mandate.Not likely, even if Finance Minister Bill Morneau won’t admit it yet.

We’ll bring in 25,000 Syrians by year-end. Didn’t make it. They did try, and eventually hit the mark a couple months late.

We’ll bring home to CF-18s. Yes they did do that, eventually: a few weeks before it was going to happen anyway. And most of the planes went to Romania.

We’ll reach a plan with the provinces for a national carbon plan.Not even close. The provinces agreed to keep talking, as long as they could all keep doing exactly what they’re already doing.