Did Clinton Win Ohio on a Lie?
by Paul Rogat Loeb | March 6, 2008
from SmirkingChimp
(TM note: see also Toronto Globe and Mail article, further down.)
Suppose someone in the North Korean government released a false story that shifted a key American election. If Bush were negatively affected, we might be bombing Pyongyang by now. But this just happened with what Hillary Clinton called "NAFTAgate" Without it, she might never have won Ohio, or her margin would have been minuscule. But as a Canadian Broadcasting Company story reveals, practically the entire story was a lie, one that played so central a role in Clinton's Ohio victory that any claim she raises about emerging with a swing state mandate is thoroughly tainted.
As the Ohio primary approached, Obama was steadily closing what a month earlier had been a 20-point lead in the polls. He argued that the NAFTA trade agreement, a centerpiece of Bill Clinton's term on which Bill had staked his entire political capital, cost massive numbers of industrial jobs in Ohio and other manufacturing states. Instead of creating a trade-fueled boom, it helped hollow out America's industrial base, with over 200,000 manufacturing jobs disappearing in Ohio since the 2000 election. Even Republicans I talked with while calling Ohio before the vote made clear that they thought NAFTA was a disaster.
Given these sentiments, Hillary chose not to defend her husband's actions, but instead claimed Obama was distorting her position because she'd privately opposed the agreement at the time, had "long been a critic" and now similarly supported stronger labor and environmental standards. Echoing her reinvention on the Iraq War, these claims were flat-out nonsense. As David Sirota points out, she'd praised NAFTA repeatedly in public settings from the time of its inception. And as Obama highlighted their contrasting positions and approaches on this and other issues, he was gaining in the polls.
(Continued here.)
from SmirkingChimp
(TM note: see also Toronto Globe and Mail article, further down.)
Suppose someone in the North Korean government released a false story that shifted a key American election. If Bush were negatively affected, we might be bombing Pyongyang by now. But this just happened with what Hillary Clinton called "NAFTAgate" Without it, she might never have won Ohio, or her margin would have been minuscule. But as a Canadian Broadcasting Company story reveals, practically the entire story was a lie, one that played so central a role in Clinton's Ohio victory that any claim she raises about emerging with a swing state mandate is thoroughly tainted.
As the Ohio primary approached, Obama was steadily closing what a month earlier had been a 20-point lead in the polls. He argued that the NAFTA trade agreement, a centerpiece of Bill Clinton's term on which Bill had staked his entire political capital, cost massive numbers of industrial jobs in Ohio and other manufacturing states. Instead of creating a trade-fueled boom, it helped hollow out America's industrial base, with over 200,000 manufacturing jobs disappearing in Ohio since the 2000 election. Even Republicans I talked with while calling Ohio before the vote made clear that they thought NAFTA was a disaster.
Given these sentiments, Hillary chose not to defend her husband's actions, but instead claimed Obama was distorting her position because she'd privately opposed the agreement at the time, had "long been a critic" and now similarly supported stronger labor and environmental standards. Echoing her reinvention on the Iraq War, these claims were flat-out nonsense. As David Sirota points out, she'd praised NAFTA repeatedly in public settings from the time of its inception. And as Obama highlighted their contrasting positions and approaches on this and other issues, he was gaining in the polls.
(Continued here.)
Labels: Hillary Clinton, NAFTA
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