All this done under the table; outside the functions of a representative republic. If Obama has such an open playing field for obliterating the constitutional government of this nation, it sure wasn't hampered by short sighted Bushists happily smoothing the grounds of that field.
More and more it is clear that Reagan was a last gasp of the notion of a more limited and constitutional government a gasp breaking in after 4 decades of ever increasing Statism and Rule by Bureaucracy. After it? A plummmet into a full blown Socialism [a really juicy melding of the National and International versions brewing before our eyes, oh yeah] and unashamed abrogation of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the integrity of the nation, and of the ideals which made this nation distinctive from the neverending reign of pisspots throughout Pepetopia.
"At the same time, I helped to convince Richard Haass at the Council on Foreign Relations that we should put together a trilateral task force to look at the future of North America. We recruited John Manley on Canada's side, along with William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts, and Pedro Aspe, the former Mexican economy minister, who had been so influential in promoting NAFTA.
The result of all of these efforts was that in 2005 Prime Minister Martin and President Bush and President Fox decided to sign what they called the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America - the SPP. The left accused us of having bullied these leaders into action, which was total nonsense. The real issue, which everyone recognized, was the need to strengthen North American competitiveness and security.
At their next summit meeting, in 2006, the three leaders invited leading members of the CEO communities in the three countries to provide private-sector input on issues related to competitiveness. From that idea the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) was born, to be composed of 10 frontline CEOs from each of Canada, the United States and Mexico. We produced 10 of our most senior CEOs, while the Americans established an executive committee of 15 representing a broad range of large companies with rotating memberships. The Mexicans produced some heavy-duty people - many names you know well.
The first meeting of the NACC with the three leaders took place in Montebello, Quebec, in 2007. Our Mexican and American counterparts graciously asked us to write the first NACC report. It was very well received, albeit heavily criticized by unions on the left and others as elitist: "Why did these people have access to the national leaders while everyone else was left out?"
The second meeting of the NACC with the three leaders took place at their summit in New Orleans in 2008 - we were in the room with the leaders for a full hour and a half.
When President Obama came to power, he faced a lot of pressure to shelve the SPP and not follow through with the NACC because his advisors were looking for an institution that would also involve environmentalists, union leaders, et al. But at the North American Leaders' Summit in Guadalajara this summer, President Calderon and Prime Minister Harper both told President Obama that the NACC was very useful. In fact, the Canadian NACC group met with our prime minister and his key ministers for an hour and a half on the eve of his departure for the Guadalajara summit. He said that, regardless of whether the NACC continues formally on a trilateral basis, he welcomes our advice on trilateral issues. "