The Faces of the Past

I'm that rare American who pays at least some attention to our northern neighbor Canada. Justin Trudeau, the Canadian PM, was just in Washington making nice with lame-duck President Obama, who feted him, mum, and the 3 kiddos.

Margaret Wente writes opinion for The Globe and Mail, more or less Canada's national paper. She describes Trudeau as "a leader with no parade." Referencing the failure of progressive politics to solve Canada's problems, her conclusion:

As charming as he is, Mr. Trudeau has no answers. His entire approach to these dilemmas is to assure us that if we all pull together and make everyone feel included, everything will be okay. I don’t blame him for that – no one else has the answers, either. But no one should mistake him for the face of the future. He’s the face of the past.

Obama too is a figure of the past, an almost-has-been.