Barring a quick scheduling fix, a government stumbling over its own secrecy will eventually confirm that a trip announced in March at the Mexico summit is postponed, almost certainly until fall.
Meanwhile, Ottawa is weighing a setback in its determined effort to put a smiling face back on an enduring friendship Liberals turned to frowns.
There's no doubt June would have been a fine diplomatic season for Harper to make his White House debut.
Wednesday's sound, if cynically manipulated, decision to boost Canada's Afghanistan role sends an important message that a beleaguered Bush administration can easily decode: Washington has two neighbours; it has only one continental ally.
Toronto Star
Note: Toronto Star
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