The Prime Minister's Office has already been accused - a little hysterically, but nevertheless - of poisoning relations with one of the two men fighting for the White House. Now, the question is how it avoids offending the other one.
Even before the PMO has indicated whether Stephen Harper will meet with John McCain, the Liberals are already citing the latter's rather unusual visit to Ottawa next week as evidence of the Tories playing favourites in the presidential race. For now, this seems a somewhat dubious charge. But it's one Harper has to be concerned about.
The Republican brand doesn't test too well in this market at the best of times, and Barack Obama appears to have nearly three times the support in Canada that McCain does. Then there's the small matter of not completely alienating Obama, whose protectionist streak could already be a bit of a problem if he wins in November. All told, it seems like an excellent day for Harper to be keeping a very low profile - but that, too, is not without its perils.
Considering McCain has roughly the same chance of being elected president as Obama, treating him like a pariah could come back to haunt Harper as well. True, there's not much precedent for meeting with someone who's merely running for office. But McCain is a senior U.S. senator, and if he wants to talk about free trade - particularly as one of its stronger advocates - it won't be easy to say no.
The easiest solution, assuming McCain requests a meeting, would probably be to sit down with him in private, avoid any gratuitous photo-ops, and make it abundantly clear that Harper is equally eager to get together with Obama if he ventures north of the border. And if McCain doesn't request a meeting, Harper should count his blessings and get himself as far from Ottawa next Friday as possible.
