I see my present partner in the imperfect tense

I enjoy seeing even the reliably left-leaning NYT getting critical of all-encompassing Canadian corruption: "Was Canada Just Too Good to Be True?" They even give Harper the last word: At a recent Liberal party convention, Mr. Martin pledged that "our most important commitment to the Canadian people was our pledge to protect and defend the values that define us: Liberal values, Canadian values." To which Stephen Harper, the Conservative leader, shot back at a rally of his own: "Corruption is not a Canadian value." Hey, I wonder if all those "United States of Canada/Jesusland" maps produced after the 2004 US elections seem quite as funny to Times-readers now? (Via NealeNews.)