Canadians have a fear of America, but we know that the Yankee Doodles are really very nice people being manipulated by oligarchs in the same way the very nice people of Russia are being manipulated by oligarchs. The question for both is to what degree and how soon can /will the oligarchs be shown the door. One is reminded in Russian history of what happened to the Kulaks with the rise of Lenin.
We might all agree that Obama is too polite to all the oligarchs that actively contrive and execute pollution policies and socially derisive policies and programs.
Where is the average person in all this? Just a pawn or eventually a rook?
