But his political capital is pretty negligible, there were broader (but even less provable) questions of the defence of the rule of law, and the recent debacle at the World Trade Organisation in Seattle might well have been avoided by a more confident, more legitimate president.
In the latest move in a long-running dispute, Canada said it would ask the World Trade Organisation to rule against a decision earlier this month by the United States to slap tariffs of at least 19.3% on imports of Canadian lumber.