Canadians reject government's `principled' stand

[CHIMO]

Now that Stephen Harper has fallen in line with the United States on the crisis in Lebanon, two questions come to mind: What do Canadians think of his position? And, if it's the job of our prime ministers to stay in the good books of the reigning empire of the day — Great Britain then, the United States now — is Harper being more obsequious to the White House than, say, Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir Robert Borden and Arthur Meighen were to Whitehall?

Cook, former York University professor and editor of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, thinks, "neither Macdonald nor Borden was anything like as obsequious as Harper is.

"Mr. Harper is ideologically very close to President Bush. When in opposition, he seemed to be in support of the war on Iraq, and now he is in support of the war on Lebanon.

Gregg said that had the Prime Minister been perceived as principled, "there would've been some political wiggle room. But in this instance, people are impugning motives to him. That's horrendous politics in today's environment."

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