In the lead-up to Thursday's meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama, concerns were expressed that the two would not hit it off given the difference in their backgrounds and political philosophies.

Commentators of a partisan bent predicted that the big winner would be Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, because of his Harvard ties and friendship with some of the top people in the Obama administration.

Taking the measure of each other. Barack Obama and Stephen Harper at their press conference in Ottawa on Feb. 19, 2009. (Canadian Press)

Also muddying the scene were the rumours of a conflict between the Governor General and the prime minister, who was said to be jealously guarding the pictures that would emerge from Obama's first business trip outside the U.S.

But in the end, none of that really mattered because the day went almost perfectly for Canadians and Americans, which was all that was important.

The images of Michaëlle Jean and Obama were superb and will reverberate around the world; the commitment of the two governments to work together on the economy, the environment and foreign policy appeared heartfelt; and Obama's meeting with Ignatieff went off without a diplomatic hitch.

Our rock-star PM

Still, watching our rather stiff prime minister in the company of the smooth and elegant U.S. president, it was hard not to think back to a time when Canada, too, had a leader with the drawing power of a rock star.

Of course, it's nearly impossible to communicate that feeling to those who had the misfortune of coming to maturity under Brian Mulroney or Jean Chrétien rather than living through the summer of love, Expo 67 and the election of Pierre Trudeau.

I don't know how Obama would have gotten along with Trudeau. Both came from a mixed heritage that bridged the main cleavage in their respective societies. Both also took advanced degrees at Harvard and later taught law.

And Trudeau — who acted as a lawyer for striking workers during the long asbestos battles of 1949 — could have been called a community organizer if the term had existed back then.

President Barack Obama is met by Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean as he arrives in Ottawa, Canada, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Tell a Harvard man

However, Barack Obama would not be where he is today had the elite U.S. universities like Columbia and Harvard not implemented affirmative action programs for the talented members of racial minorities. Trudeau, on the other hand, had all the advantages that flow from a wealthy family.

Obama also has the common touch and a smile that would seem to be able to charm his worst enemy. Trudeau, on the other hand, was arrogant (though some claim he was shy) and had the annoying habit of engaging in intellectual one-upmanship.

As the saying goes in the Ivy Leagues: you can always tell a Harvard man, but you can't tell him much.

Given where he started in life, Obama may well have felt more comfortable in the company of Jean Chrétien or Brian Mulroney, both of whom came from working-class families and clearly enjoyed being around other people.

Yet, I'm not sure Obama would have hit it off with either of these gentlemen, both of whom I've had the experience of watching up close.

Chrétien was proudly anti-intellectual and famous for his one-page briefing notes. And Mulroney was an inveterate schmoozer, for whom substance was much less important than personal relations.

Serious times

Does it matter whether the Canadian prime minister and the president of the United States get along? The short answer is yes.

What's more, it probably matters more than usual right now.

Serious times and serious problems require serious leaders. Obama — aside from being an international celebrity — is a serious man.

In this sense, Canada is fortunate to have Stephen Harper in office at this time.

Like Obama, he is extremely intelligent. For all their differences, the two men were able to engage directly today, without briefing notes and without staff prompting them, on a wide range of policy issues. That alone should make the relationship between the two administrations smoother.

We are also fortunate at this time to have a Michael Ignatieff in the wings.

No one would suggest anymore that Ignatieff has the charisma of a Pierre Trudeau or a Barack Obama. But it's clear that Ignatieff is also a serious man, fully engaged in the things that matter.

Like the U.S., Canada has serious problems, with the economy, the environment, social cohesion at times.

But one of our blessings is that we can produce leaders of quality like Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff.

And, to younger Canadians who despair of ever experiencing a charismatic prime minister, I would simply note that nearly 50 years passed between the election of John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama as president of the United States.