TORONTO - "The Daily Show" may have been in re-runs last week, but host Jon Stewart didn't let U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Canada escape his sights.
On Tuesday night's show, the American comedian devoted about two minutes of his opening bit to Obama's wildly successful visit to Ottawa last Thursday. Stewart posed the question why did Obama go to Canada before showing a clip of Obama almost saying "Iowa" when he meant to say "it is a great pleasure to be here in Ottawa."
Stewart quipped that Obama went to Canada for his first foreign trip as president because he can "mess up" here, calling Canada the diplomatic equivalent of a pre-season game.
The Daily Show also aired a clip of Obama signing the visitors book on Parliament Hill, to which Stewart asked "Canada has world leaders sign their guest book? Are you a country or a bed and breakfast? No disrespect."
Stewart also poked fun at the fact that Obama spent only seven hours on Canadian soil, saying that his first diplomatic trip on the show's "How Long Americans Stay in Canada Scale" ranks above a firecracker prescription drug run and just below an underage Montreal bachelor party.
Obama said when he was in Ottawa on Thursday that he came to Canada on his first trip as president to underscore the closeness and the importance of the relationship between Canada and the United States.
Obama's highly-anticipated meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa yielded an agreement to co-operate on the economy, fight climate change and protect the auto industry.
During his brief trip Obama went out of his way to praise Canada, noting he has both Canadian in-laws and staff.
"I love this country," he said.
