It looks like the Democrat vow to regain respect for America on the international scene has hit a snag.

DENVER, Colo.--Canadian Parliamentarians in Denver last week tried to seek assurances that Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama isn't singling out Canada as he vows to wean the U.S. off foreign oil and protect domestic jobs.

The Democratic National Convention was a chance for the party to tout its messages of energy independence and renewing the livelihoods of middle-income workers, leaving Canadian politicians guessing as to whether it was all made for primetime or if more concrete policy positions are on their way--provided that the Democrats win the White House.

As the U.S.'s largest supplier of oil and its biggest free trade partner, Canada is a prime target for Sen. Obama's campaign against high gas prices and outsourced jobs, about which the Liberal Party, for one, expressed concern.

"They're very protectionist on trade. They're very aggressive on energy policy and much more open about climate change and global warming than what we've seen before. I've been impressed by some things, but the protectionism thing is a challenge for us because the rhetoric is all about exporting jobs to China, and then they talk about bad trade deals. Well, generally they mean NAFTA. That's a tough issue for us," Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae (Toronto Centre, Ont.), who last week attended his fourth Democratic convention, said in an interview.

Fortunately I don't think that Obama and his ship of fools will be doing well in November.

In fact Sarah Palin who had to work with Canada to get a natural gas pipeline built will be much more reassuring to them. They will know her. Now about that no foreign policy experience meme the Democrats are pushing. I'm betting that it is a wet noodle.

Cross Posted at Power and Control