Merge Canada and U.S.?

John Ellis, writing in Business Insider, starts out musing about what economic solution President Obama could possibly propose that would meet the "go big or go home" test. All the usual suspects are denigrated as "small ball."

This leads Ellis to suggest the president propose the idea of a merger between the U.S. and Canada. No question about it, that is not small ball.

If we merged would the result be good? Probably. Is it possible? Very unlikely. Unfortunately, the only place in Canada where the idea would find much positive reception is Alberta, a place sometimes called "Texas North."

My sense is that most Canadians like the U.S. but don't want to be part of it. They view it the way Californians view snow: as fun to visit but not a place to live.

Whether or not merger happened, if Obama did propose a merger, it would certainly be a bombshell. He would get this country's attention in a way he hasn't been able to do since the Gulf oil spill.