Young, Fresh-Faced, Full Of Hope: The Obama Comparison

The 2015 election was one of the longest campaign cycles in Canadian history. It lasted 78 days — a figure that makes Americans everywhere blink incredulously — starting in early August, just before the GOP presidential candidates in the U.S. faced off for the first debate of the 2016 election in the States.

Throughout those 11 weeks, Conservatives hammered away at Justin Trudeau, saying “he’s just not ready.” If that sounds familiar, it’s because the same charge of inexperience was levied against Barack Obama in 2008. Watching Trudeau’s victory speech, you might have heard echoes of Obama’s rhetoric of hope and change.

“Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?” Obama once asked Americans.

“My friends, we beat fear with hope, we beat cynicism with hard work,” said Trudeau on Monday night.

Both men also emphasized their intentions to reach across the aisle: "Conservatives are not our enemies,” said Trudeau, “they're our neighbors.”

Of course, it takes one to pirouette, two to tango. For years, Obama has contended with a Republican-controlled Congress in his attempts to pass his political agenda. Both leaders were comparatively young when they were elected. At 48, Obama was the fifth-youngest U.S. president in history, while 43-year-old Trudeau is Canada’s second-youngest prime minister.

Youth and inexperience can create unrealistic expectations for the daily slog of governing, but they can also energize the electorate, and remind people that politics can be inclusive and optimistic.

“I hope it is an inspiration to like-minded people to step up and pitch in,” Trudeau said in his speech.