SPP not so much of an issue for Americans: profs

After asking the Maroon for the location of Loyola's political science building, Meaghan and I made our way into the submarine-like structure and found a couple of professors willing to talk to us about the SPP, the summit, and post-Katrina stress.

Mary Troy Johnson (pictured left), a specialist in summits and European integration, didn't say much about the SPP (too busy to follow the issue closely). She did, however, suggest that many Americans don't think very much about the Partnership because they are more inward-looking when it comes to politics.

Just down the hall, Conrad Raabe (pictured right) was eager to talk to us about Canada-U.S. relations. Raabe has spent several years living in Ottawa, and he is a professor in comparative international relations.

Raabe's analysis was that Americans don't see Canadians as a separate state and often wonder why we don't join the union. Many Americans are unphased by this kind of integration, because to them, well, Canadians already are Americans.

"You sound like us, act like us, and look like us," he said.