July Sixers Get the Cake; Canadian Gets the Crumbs

The moment was for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, left, but it disappeared when President Bush embraced the celebrants of July 6 birthdays at the lectern: Todd Mizis, center, Raghubir Goyal and Richard Benedetto, right. (By Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)

As foreigners go, Harper is the sort who would appeal even to the isolationists among us. A youthful 47, he has JFK good looks and, like Bush, wore gray suit, silvery hair, and blue shirt, tie and eyes. His accent sounded downright American, except when he said words such as "again" and "processes." And though he spoke in French, it clearly wasn't his mother tongue; he asked a reporter how to say "missile defense" in French.

"We face exactly the same kind of security threats and are defending exactly the same kinds of values," the Canadian said, emotionally requesting a change in the passport law. "And I would hate to see a law go into place that has the effect of not just limiting or endangering trade or tourism, but endangering all those thousands of social interactions that occur across our border every day and are the reasons why Canada and the United States have the strongest relationship of any two countries not just on the planet, but in the history of mankind."

The White House attempted various shows of deference to Harper, including the formal East Room setting, and the presence of Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Bush hurried to mention how firm Harper was on the passport issue ("he basically was a little impatient") and credited him for resolving a long-festering lumber dispute; Harper smiled and nodded.

But the president couldn't maintain perfect decorum. When Harper insisted on making all his remarks in French and English, a bored-looking Bush winked at a couple of the American reporters.

The president sprang to life whenever the subject turned to his birthday. After a Canadian reporter brought it up, Bush complained that "it's amazing that the first birthday greeting I got from the press came from the Canadian press." Bush added that 60 is "a lot younger than you think."

A second Canadian reporter tried to follow on his colleague's success. "I'm just curious what you think of that belt buckle the prime minister gave you as a birthday gift, and are you wearing it?" he asked.

Major faux pas. "I hadn't seen it yet!" Bush said with mock dismay, opening his jacket to reveal his usual buckle. "You gave it away!"

Then came the closing handshake, which was aborted in favor of Bush's impromptu birthday celebration with members of the audience. "Happy birthday! Happy birthday!" Bush said to his fellow July Sixers.

Harper, not knowing quite what to do, decided to shake hands with all of them. From the back of the room, somebody shouted out to the Canadian: "I hope you brought enough belt buckles!"