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Originally Posted by lettertodaddy

As someone who has both American and Canadian citizenship, I understand why Jack Layton didn't get more coverage in the American media. He wasn't the Prime Minister or Head of State in Canada. He was beloved by many (it was Layton's NDP that convinced me to pursue citizenship instead of just staying a permanent resident), but that notoriety didn't really go beyond Canada's borders. Jack was fundamentally a local/national politician who wanted to do the best for Canada. I think it's OK that the American media didn't cover his passing or his funeral, because his focus wasn't on the United States.

He was the official leader of the opposition party. That's a big deal. We're not talking about the mayor of some tiny town in northern ontario. I wouldn't have expected/wanted to see a 3-page spread in he New York Times, but a fucking mention would have been nice. Because god knows that if, say, John Boenner or Nancy Pelosi or somebody had died it would have been more than mentioned in Canadian papers.

On top of that, you and I both know that if John Boehner or Nancy Pelosi had died that the PM here would have made some sort of a goodwill statement. But Obama couldn't be bothered to say "wow, that stinks kids. So sorry to hear it." It just feels really disrespectful and symptomatic of that whole thing where the US is really only interested in the US. We're supposed to be neighbours, and completely ignoring something that is a huge fucking deal to so many Canadians feels mighty unneighbourly.