Win talks Canadian politics

I spent a few minutes yesterday getting to the bottom of Win Butler's citizenship/voting status at the Arcade Fire and Superchunk show in Greensboro.After all, isn't there some kind of federal law against accepting musical campaign contributions from noncitizens?

Turns out Win and brother William are from Texas -- which, to its dismay, is still a part of the United States. He cast his first presidential vote in the Lone Star State in 2000, voted in Maine in 2004 and filled out an expat ballot for this year's election. He has the Canadian equivalent of a Green Card, so he's not a citizen, even though he lives in Montreal with his wife, Regine, and the rest of the band.
Also, as debate rages over whether Sen. Barack Obama is more like Jimmy Carter or JFK, the perspective from the north, or at least from Win, is that Obama just might be the second coming of Pierre Trudeau, the giant of 20th century Canadian politics.
Among other things -- like gallivanting with celebrities -- Trudeau is known for the liberal social policies he championed.
"I think it's been a while in either country since there's been a candidate like Obama," Butler said. "In Canada the last one was Trudeau. He had a similar background as Obama, he was a teacher who was very charismatic.Sometimes it takes someone who can inspire others to get things done, like universal health care, which Trudeau helped pass. We won't be able to do what the Canadians have done in the US, but I think Obama supports health care policies that are at least more humane. I'm not even from Canada, but I have a health card."