The Globe and Mail reports that Mitt Romney’s foreign policy has Canadian roots. Dan Senor, who has accompanied Romney on his tour of Israel, was born in New York but grew up in Toronto — where his mother still lives. Mr Senor went to high school in the Forest Hill section of Toronto and graduated from the University of Western Ontario.

Returning to the United States, he made friends in high places:

After graduating from Western, he studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and worked for a Republican senator from Michigan. For good measure, he also attended Harvard Business School.

Along the way, Mr. Senor displayed a talent for attracting mentors in high places. They included David Rubenstein, head of the private-equity giant Carlyle Group, where Mr. Senor worked, and William Kristol, the dean of neo-conservative commentators, who took an early interest in his career.

In Jerusalem last week,

Romney departed from official U.S. policy and described Jerusalem as the “capital of Israel,” a label that Palestinians say undermines their claims to the city. During the fundraising breakfast, Mr. Romney also compared the economic success of Israelis to that of Palestinians, attributing some of the difference to “culture.” Such a comment is “racist” and “shows a lack of knowledge,” said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator.

Senor’s job is to turn media lead into gold. He has a track record. In 2003, Senor became the chief spokesman for Paul Bremer. His job was to make a disaster look like a triumph. But, occasionally, he let his guard fall:

In the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Rajiv Chandrasekaran memorably quoted Mr. Senor as saying: “Off the record, Paris is burning. On the record, security and stability are returning to Iraq.”

My only comment is that this Canadian is deeply embarrassed.