Don't underestimate the importance of this first, intimate meeting as an icebreaker, said Mike McCurry, who served as press secretary to Mr. Clinton. Canadian and U.S. staffers will get to know each other by name. And while they may have differences ideologically, Mr. McCurry said, Mr. Obama and Mr. Harper can easily find some common ground in their personal lives. "There will probably be some shared reflections on the burden of holding office when you are trying to raise a family," he said. "That's the kind of thing that establishes some kinship pretty quickly."
Mr. Ignatieff also has an edge going into his meeting; he knows several people in Mr. Obama's administration.
An out-of-sight working trip is also more predictable: "So many of the opportunities both for spectacle and disaster are removed by not having the main public events," Dr. Hillmer said. There's no chance, for instance, that Mr. Obama will hurt his back while planting a tree at Rideau Hall, as JFK did so famously on that 1961 visit. There'll be no opportunity for the two leaders to dash on stage for a duet, like Brian Mulroney who sang While Irish Eyes are Smiling with Mr. Reagan at the "Shamrock Summit" in Quebec in 1985 — to negative reviews from Canadians.
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
Both sides, of course, will be conscious about how the meeting plays at home, though a trip to Canada gets much more attention in Canada than it does in the United States. (At the press conference, don't expect too many questions from U.S. news media about Canada.) "I don't imagine that Mr. Harper and Mr. Obama will break out into song," Dr. Wark said. "But there will be a desire to make this look like a warm, cuddly visit."
Just not too warm — after his performance onstage with the former president, Mr. Mulroney was criticized for being too cozy with the Americans. Later, when Mr. Chrétien and Mr. Clinton would sneak off for the odd golf game during summits, the former PM tried to keep the sojourns under wraps. "Fly too close to that American sun," Dr. Hillmer observed, "and Canadians say, 'that's not a good idea.'" Still, when President and Prime Minister emerge from their lunch on Thursday, every nuance will be assessed for secret signs of how it really went. Do they seem relaxed with each other? Are their smiles tense?
Don't read too much into their body language, Mr. Goldenberg cautioned. Most leaders are very cordial with one another, he said, no matter their political differences. He offered this anecdote: After their first meeting at the White House in February of 2001, Mr. Chrétien and George W. Bush were photographed sitting side by side in high-backed chairs. From their awkward positions, pundits decided they hadn't gotten along.
"What happened?" Mr. Goldenberg recalled asking Mr. Chrétien. "I thought you had a great time."
"We did," he said the former PM told him. "The chairs were just really uncomfortable."
