Spring Break
Obama slips up on NAFTA as Clinton hammers him
Mar. 4, 2008
David Lightman, William Douglas and Margaret Talev - McClatchy NewspapersIssue date: 2/28/08 Section: MCT News
SAN ANTONIO _ Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton waged an increasingly bitter fight over trade policy and other issues Monday as they headed for Tuesday showdowns in Texas and Ohio, a clash that many Democrats fervently hope will produce a clear-cut winner.
Concern is growing among party activists that if Tuesday's results are indecisive, the battle between the two senators could get nastier and wound their party's eventual nominee.
Fresh evidence of the uglier tone came as new reports challenged Obama's views on the North American Free Trade Agreement and Clinton forces pressed him to discuss his relationship with one-time fundraiser Tony Rezko, whose corruption trial began Monday.
NAFTA is a huge issue in economically staggering Ohio, where many blame its impact for job losses. Obama has been a strong critic of the 1993 pact.
Last week, Canadian television said that Obama senior economic adviser Austan Goolsbee told that country's officials that Obama's anti-NAFTA stand was only "political positioning," and thus insincere, but the Illinois senator flatly denied any such contact.
Over the weekend, however, a memo surfaced detailing a meeting between Goolsbee and Canadian officials on Feb. 8. The Obama campaign now says that Goolsbee's meeting wasn't on behalf of the campaign, but Clinton underscored that Obama officials initially had denied that it happened and now are offering an alibi.
That's the kind of controversy that worries Democrats as they watch Arizona Sen. John McCain prepare to clinch the Republican nomination _ perhaps on Tuesday _ and begin uniting his party.
"All this stuff just gives fresh ammunition to McCain, and it is likely to leave a lot of Democrats angry, anger that could spill over into the general election," said G. Terry Madonna, the director of the Center for Politics & Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.
Some 370 convention delegates are at stake in four states voting Tuesday _ Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont. Should Obama win a strong majority, calls for Clinton to leave the race are sure to escalate. But if Clinton emerges as the day's winner, which polls suggest could happen, the next important round won't come until April 22, when Pennsylvania votes.
Concern is growing among party activists that if Tuesday's results are indecisive, the battle between the two senators could get nastier and wound their party's eventual nominee.
Fresh evidence of the uglier tone came as new reports challenged Obama's views on the North American Free Trade Agreement and Clinton forces pressed him to discuss his relationship with one-time fundraiser Tony Rezko, whose corruption trial began Monday.
NAFTA is a huge issue in economically staggering Ohio, where many blame its impact for job losses. Obama has been a strong critic of the 1993 pact.
Last week, Canadian television said that Obama senior economic adviser Austan Goolsbee told that country's officials that Obama's anti-NAFTA stand was only "political positioning," and thus insincere, but the Illinois senator flatly denied any such contact.
Over the weekend, however, a memo surfaced detailing a meeting between Goolsbee and Canadian officials on Feb. 8. The Obama campaign now says that Goolsbee's meeting wasn't on behalf of the campaign, but Clinton underscored that Obama officials initially had denied that it happened and now are offering an alibi.
That's the kind of controversy that worries Democrats as they watch Arizona Sen. John McCain prepare to clinch the Republican nomination _ perhaps on Tuesday _ and begin uniting his party.
"All this stuff just gives fresh ammunition to McCain, and it is likely to leave a lot of Democrats angry, anger that could spill over into the general election," said G. Terry Madonna, the director of the Center for Politics & Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.
Some 370 convention delegates are at stake in four states voting Tuesday _ Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont. Should Obama win a strong majority, calls for Clinton to leave the race are sure to escalate. But if Clinton emerges as the day's winner, which polls suggest could happen, the next important round won't come until April 22, when Pennsylvania votes.
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