Mr. McCain Goes to Ottawa

Facing criticisms from the campaign of his principle rival, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, for going abroad to talk policy, rather than staying home and "listening to the American people", McCain hoped to highlight the fact that he had not planned or staged a political trip. Rather he hoped to point to it as one aimed at talking about the importance of relations between the two neighbors, a trip that followed in the mold of his trip to London, England where he met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his trip to Paris, France where he greeted President Nicholas Sarkozy.

So much so that did he hope to diffuse that potential or the idea that he was campaigning on foreign soil that he refused to talk about the race for the White House or the American political scene even amidst questions about it during his press conference.