Obama to Canada: Wink, Wink, Nod, Nod on NAFTA

In what could be another in a series of what’s likely to be a series of disappointing revelation to citizens of Obama Nation, their fearless leader showed that he may indeed be capable of behaving like a politician.

At issue is the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA, which is a contentious issue in the struggling rust belt economy of Ohio, where they’ve lost more than 200,000 jobs since George W. Bush became president. Many people there apparently blame NAFTA, so Clinton and Obama, although they both seem to have similar plans and a modestly pro-free trade policy are battling over who is filled with more righteous anger over the agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.


Canadian television network CTV reports that an Obama sent a back channel message to the Canadian government that what Obama said on the campaign trail on NAFTA should not be taken literally, that if elected, Obama would not pull out of the trade agreement.

Obama's aides denied any meeting had taken place until the Associated Press published a memo written by an employee of the Canadian consulate. According to the memo, Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee, met with officials at the Canadian consulate in Chicago.

The critical part of the memo: "Noting anxiety among many U.S. domestic audiences about the U.S. economic outlook, Goolsbee candidly acknowledged the protectionist sentiment that has emerged, particularly in the Midwest, during the primary campaign. He cautioned that this messaging should not be taken out of context and should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans."

Goolsbee’s response: "I certainly did not use that phrase in any way."

Obama now recognizes that he can’t leave this up to his aides. In Texas he said:

“When I gave you that information, that was the information that I had at the time.
It turned out that the Canadian consulate in Chicago contacted one of my advisers, Austan Goolsbee, on their own initiative, invited him down to meet with them. He went down there as a courtesy.

“And at some point, they started talking about trade and NAFTA. And the Canadian embassy has confirmed that he said exactly what I've been saying on the campaign trail, which is that I believe in trade, but that it is important for us to have labor standards and environmental standards that are enforceable and that I intend to obtain modifications and amendments to NAFTA that will make them enforceable.”

Ultimately, it’s probably in our best interests overall to keep the current treaty in place. A lot of oil Canada might prefer to sell to China than the U.S. and plenty of American exports to Canada are at stake. It’s an acknowledgement of those economic and political realities that Obama would hint that some campaign promises are made to be broken.

It’s also a reminder that Barack Obama was not born in a manger. An Obama presidency might well restore some much needed hope not only among Americans but other people around the world who are affected by what U.S. government policy, but it’s a lot more likely to look like an administration run by a politician than the utopian fantasyland envisioned by Obama’s legion of unquestioning followers

Think I’m over-stating the cult of personality? Watch the video below.

Hillary to Obama: “Quit it! You’re hurting me! I’m telling!”

Hillary went so far over the edge on her Scoldy Locks rant in Ohio this weekend that she may have engendered more sympathy for Obama than herself.

At issue were a couple of campaign flyers mailed to Ohio voters by the Obama campaign that Clinton says misrepresented her stand on health care and trade.

"Shame on you, Barack Obama," she said "It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages and public. That's what I expect from you. Meet me in Ohio. Let's have a debate about your tactics and your behavior on this campaign."

Words on a page can’t quite convey the venom, so watch the video and see if it makes you feel like you’d rather be someplace else, like when you end up having dinner with a couple in the middle of a major argument. I half expected her to start wagging ehr finger at me and say "I did not have politcal relations with that man, Mr Obama!"

So much for going gently into the night for Hillary Clinton.

Trouble is, she’s playing rough herself and calling foul at the same time.

FactCheck.org says both campaigns use commonplace political tactics of misleading voters about the other candidate:

“We said the mailer "lacks context" and stretches the facts, but we can't agree that it is "false" as Clinton says.

“We find that a mailer criticizing her position on trade is indeed misleading. One that attacks her health care plan we have previously described as straining the facts, though not exactly "false."
• Trade: A mailer showing a locked plant gate quotes Clinton as saying she believed NAFTA was "a boon" to the economy. Those are not her words and Obama was wrong to put quote marks around them. In fact, she's been described by a biographer as privately opposing NAFTA in the White House.
• Health Care: A second mailer said Clinton's health care plan "forces everyone to buy insurance, even if you can't afford it." We have previously said that mailer "lacks context" and strains the facts. But both Obama and Clinton have been exaggerating their differences on this issue.
“We've also previously criticized Clinton for sending a mailer that twisted Obama's words and gave a false picture of his proposals on Social Security, home foreclosures and energy.

“Clinton is no innocent on sending out misleading mailers. We reported on Feb. 6 that a mailing by her campaign contained a "big distortion" of Obama's position on Social Security taxes and falsely implied that he had "no plan" to address mortgage foreclosures. It also attacked him for voting for a "Dick Cheney" energy bill that gave "huge tax breaks to oil companies," when in fact the bill gave a net tax increase to oil companies.”

The next debate probably won’t be nearly as civil as the last one. Try taking a drink every time one of the talking heads in debate analysis invokes some version of the phrase “the gloves come off” and see how long you last.