CNN Money reports that Barack Obama, who made a promise during the Democrat Campaign Debate in Ohio to "opt out [of NAFTA] unless we renegotiate the core labor and environmental standards" is apparently ready to flip his flop on that, too.
The general campaign is on, independent voters up for grabs, and Barack Obama is toning down his populist rhetoric - at least when it comes to free trade.You'll remember, not long after Obama made this promise to the Union voters of Ohio, it was revealed that there was a memo from his campaign to a Canadian diplomat actually telling him that Obama's vow was merely campaign rhetoric and that they shouldn't take it seriously.
In an interview with Fortune to be featured in the magazine's upcoming issue, the presumptive Democratic nominee suggests he doesn't want to unilaterally blow up NAFTA after all.
"Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified," he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA "devastating" and "a big mistake," despite nonpartisan studies concluding that the trade zone has had a mild, positive effect on the U.S. economy.
Does that mean his rhetoric was overheated and amplified? "Politicians are always guilty of that, and I don't exempt myself," he answered.
What Obama says now is that he believes in "opening up a dialogue" with trading partners Canada and Mexico "and figuring to how we can make this work for all people."
That tone stands in marked contrast to his primary campaign's anti-NAFTA fusillades. The pact creating a North American free-trade zone was President Bill Clinton's signature accomplishment; but NAFTA is also the bugaboo of union leaders, grassroots activists and Midwesterners who blame free trade for the factory closings they see in their hometowns.
The Democratic candidates fought hard to win over those factions of their party.
The candidate of 'change' seems to be the candidate of 'politics as usual' ...
[ Obama campaign flyer via Gateway Pundit. ]
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