 Sen. Barack Obama (WND photo) |
WASHINGTON – Leading Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has blasted rival Hillary Rodham Clinton for flip-flopping on NAFTA, but, according to the public record, he has also switch positions.
Obama has turned trade into a centerpiece of his campaign in Ohio, where trade agreements are particularly unpopular as domestic manufacturing jobs disappear.
Texas and Ohio hold nominating contests March 4, and Obama has criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement at campaign stops in both states.
“What the world should interpret is my consistent position, which is I believe in trade,” he said after meeting with workers at a manufacturing plant in Ohio. “I just want to make sure that the rules of the road apply to everybody and they are fair and that they reflect the interests of workers and not just corporate profits.”
Just last October, however, Obama announced he would vote for a Peruvian trade agreement that would expand NAFTA into that country.
In fact, he was the first presidential candidate to declare support for the NAFTA expansion. He was also the keynote speaker at a luncheon of the Hamilton Project – a Wall Street group working to drive a wedge between Democrats and organized labor on globalization issues.
NAFTA went into effect in 1994 while former President Clinton held office. In her memoir, Hillary Clinton called NAFTA a success, though she says she has a plan to review it and fix it.
Obama said he opposed NAFTA from the start and U.S. workers were not the only ones to suffer from its effects. Wages and benefits in Mexico had not been improved by the treaty, he said.
Special offers:
Get the stunning new film “Hillary! Uncensored” from WND’s online store
‘Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton’
Obama’s pastor disses Natalee Holloway
Obama-Farrakhan link off-limits
Will Farrakhan pray at Obama’s inauguration?
Black pro-life leader rips Obama
Obama’s church: More about Africa than God?
Hillary eats Obama’s dust – trails 10 points in N.H.
Futures markets see McCain, Obama wins
Iowa is heaven for Huck, Obama
Pollster says ‘futures markets’ pick Huckabee, Obama in Iowa
