Marathon Pundit: Obama NAFTA flap gets worse

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Obama NAFTA flap gets worse

Someone doesn't like being called a liar. Is it the Canadian government? The CTV network? A memo has been leaked that supports CTV's side of the disagreement over Obama's seriousness on renegotiating NAFTA.

From the Financial Times:

A senior adviser to Barack Obama told the Canadian government that the Democratic presidential frontrunner’s campaign rhetoric on free trade should be viewed as "political positioning" according to a leaked memo.

The memo provided the first firm evidence to support week-old allegations that the Obama campaign issued private reassurances to Canada while publicly criticising the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).

The furor stems from a meeting between Austan Goolsbee, Mr Obama’s senior economic adviser, and officials at the Canadian consulate in Chicago last month.

In a summary of the meeting, a Canadian diplomat wrote that Mr Goolsbee "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," said the memo, which was obtained by the Associated Press.