Democrats Spar Over NAFTA In Ohio

Clinton Suggests Obama Is Misleading Voters Over Her Position On Trade Agreement

(AP)  Former President Clinton, campaigning for his wife Monday in rural and southern Ohio continued hammering Hillary Rodham Clinton's themes of reclaiming the middle class, ensuring health care for Americans and bringing troops home from Iraq.

"You cannot expect us to grow more jobs in America if we keep subsidizing jobs overseas," he said during an evening rally at Lancaster High School, just hours after he had accused Hillary Clinton's Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama of misleading voters about her policy positions.

"A lot of the mailings sent out on her on NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) and health care are pure garbage," Clinton had said during a rally at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, where hundreds of students lined up in 31-degree weather more than an hour ahead of the former president's visit.

Clinton campaign advisers said later in a teleconference with reporters that Obama is equating Hillary Clinton's record on NAFTA with that of her husband.

"If we want to impute everything that happened during the Clinton administration to Hillary Clinton, we'll take the fact 22 million jobs were added in the country," spokesman Howard Wolfson said.

NAFTA is unpopular in Ohio, which has lost blue-collar jobs to other countries. The treaty was signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1992; the legislation to implement it was signed by President Clinton in 1993.

Hillary Clinton said Obama's ads unfairly portrayed her as a supporter of the agreement which she says she is working to change. Over the weekend, Obama told an Ohio audience: "She was saying great things about NAFTA until she started running for president."

Labor leaders who said they had personal experience negotiating with Bill Clinton's administration on NAFTA backed Obama - accusing Hillary Clinton's campaign of likewise distorting Obama's record on NAFTA in her mailings.

Saying President Clinton personally forced NAFTA through Congress using all the political capital he could muster, UNITE Here General President Bruce Raynor added, "I refuse to believe that after all the damage is done that he should be permitted to walk away. And he is a part of this campaign, if everyone hadn't noticed."

State Rep. Tracey Heard, a Columbus Democrat, said, "Clearly, she's trying to campaign on her husband's experience, and if she's going to claim it, she's going to have to claim it all, good and bad."

In advance of a scheduled Tuesday debate in Cleveland and the state's March 4 presidential primary, both Democrats' campaigns blitzed southern Ohio on Monday.

Obama held an invitation only round table discussion on retirement security at the Cincinnati Museum Center.

"Pensions are getting crushed," Obama said at the round table. "The promise of social security may grow harder to keep for future generations. That's why my agenda for retirement security will protect Social Security, lift up savings for working people and reform bankruptcy laws to protect working people."

And at a public rally in the basketball arena at the University of Cincinnati, Mayor Mark Mallory, a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention who had been courted by both contenders, ended his silence by announcing his endorsement of Obama. Michael White, who served as Cleveland's mayor from 1990 through 2002, also announced his support for Obama Monday.

Later Monday, Obama spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of about 11,000 at Wright State University outside Dayton.

Earlier in the day in Athens, Bill Clinton reemphasized how important the Ohio primary is.

"If she wins in Ohio and Texas, she'll win in Pennsylvania, she'll win the nomination and she will get elected president. Don't let anybody tell you she can't win.

If Hillary Clinton is elected, she'll have serious trade enforcement policies and she'll repeal provisions in the tax code that give breaks to companies that move overseas, her husband said.

He also said she wants to disengage and bring almost all the troops in Iraq home, but that withdrawal must be guided by the safety of troops and Iraqi citizens. He said she's opposed to a permanent base in Iraq, but would leave a presence in the northern part of the country to be enable a quick strike against al Qaeda in the region.

"The world wants to see the United States back in the peace business, not the war business," Bill Clinton said.

The former president, who campaigned in Bowling Green, Lima and Springfield on Sunday, started Monday's swing through the southern part of state in Chillicothe, where he told a rally at a branch campus of Ohio University that his wife is the only candidate who has policies to help working class families.

And at Portsmouth, Clinton said his wife offers the best solutions for issues ranging from health care coverage to the high cost of financing a college education.

He urged undecideds to vote for her, not Obama, "If you believe that the fact of change is more important than the feeling of change."

In Lancaster, Clinton attacked Obama's message of change, charging that the opposing campaign wants to ignore the past, while Hillary Clinton says "we have to understand the past to make good decisions about the future."

"Their argument is that we have so much fighting that even somebody who had done a lot of good in her life and stopped a lot of bad things from happening should be disqualified from being president," he said, adding that many qualified candidates would be written off with such thinking. "The idea is that you just have to start again and all you need to do is tell people that we're all gonna get together and not argue anymore and everything's gonna be fine."

Two new presidential polls released Monday showed Hillary Clinton leading Obama. But there were indications that Obama was narrowing the gap.

A Quinnipiac University poll showed Clinton with an 11 percentage point lead, down from 21 points in a poll released a week and a half ago.

An Ohio Poll had Clinton leading 47-39, with an 18-percentage-point lead among women accounting for most of the difference.

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona was the lone Republican campaigning Monday in Ohio. The all-but-certain GOP nominee was in the Cleveland area, working to unify his party.

"Americans will judge my candidacy first and foremost on how they believe I can lead the county both from our economy and for national security," McCain told reporters on his campaign bus. "Obviously, Iraq will play a role in their judgment of my ability to handle national security."

[ianlou]

The more articulate person was Obama. Between the two Hillary has had more years in the Senate, but flip flops constantly, and not enough leadership to justify a Presidential position. Obama is extremely wet behind the ears. Both candidates are not leaders, they are managers. Only McCain is a leader.
Posted by Jack3213

Some said that Bush had leadership experience when he was running for the first time.
I am sick of this sort of leadership experience!
If you want to continue getting screwwed America, elect an experienced republican rapist.

[jack3213]

The more articulate person was Obama. Between the two Hillary has had more years in the Senate, but flip flops constantly, and not enough leadership to justify a Presidential position. Obama is extremely wet behind the ears. Both candidates are not leaders, they are managers. Only McCain is a leader.

[missglo]

Well the best line of the night was when Sen Obama talk about the Bus driver. And the whin of the night was," Why must I be first? What Strength. And lets not forget the strong issue of the night,Saturday Night Live. Classic stupidy.

[ndjam]

Clinton won this debate. Clinton will win the Democratic nominee. Clinton will be our President. Vote for Hillary Clinton...

[coll691]

jUST WONDERING IF WANT HE SAID ABOUT HILLARY IN NAFTA IS NOT DIVISIVE OR THIS RIGHT, IF HE TEACHING US TO BELIEVE TO THIS, WE SAY HE HIS A MESSIAH OR A GOOD PRESIDENT...BUT FOR ME HILLARY IS SAYING TO FIX THE NAFTA AND SHE PROPOSED THE HEALTH INSURANCE...FIRST BEFORE OBAMA''S PROPOSAL... SO HE IS DIVISIVE FOR ME. IF I AM WRONG, i CAN''T SEE SOMETHING WRONG TO THE PROPOSAL OF HILLARY AND WHAT SHE WANT TO DO IN NAFTA..SHE CAN FIX IT ANY PRESIDENT CAN FIX IT NOW IF THEY WANT... SHE JUST OFFER HER SERVICE, WHAT''S WRONG ABOUT IT... BE A MAN PLEASE, BE A MAN ALWAYS BE A MAN PLEASE...

[denn034]

"''Over the weekend, Obama told an Ohio audience: "She was saying great things about NAFTA until she started running for president...''" And yes, Mr. Obama so were YOU! Get real!"
Posted by RowdyTexan2

They''re Democrats!

[pragmatist1]

Poor Obama. Afraid of an extremely intelligent, strong, experienced and visionary woman like Hillary Clinton. Obama was just as much for NAFTA and funding of the Iraq War as was Hillary. Obama took a lot of money from Washington inside donors. He''s caught with dirt on his hands and he''s not able to wash it off fast enough. Now he can''t handle the revelations. Poor Obama.

[pragmatist1]

Poor Obama. Afraid of an extremely intelligent, strong, experienced and visionary woman like Hillary Clinton. Obama was just as much for NAFTA and funding of the Iraq War as was Hillary. Obama took a lot of money from Washington isider donors. He''s caught with dirt on his hands and he''s not able to wash it off fast enough.

[missingamerica]

"You cannot expect us to grow more jobs in America if we keep subsidizing jobs overseas"?!?!?!?!

***? CLINTON said that?

That slimy *** - he had the opportunity to ensure that legislation existed to ensure that couldn''t happen BEFORE he signed any free trade treaties, and he didn''t do it!!!

I repeat - THAT SLIMY ***!!!

[pragmatist1]

Obama''s strategy all along has been to deflect, devert and misrepresent. He''s made this an art form. He embellishes, misleads, fraudulent distorts and acts all innocent when he''s called to explain himself. He has voted repeatedly to continue funding of the Iraq War, yet sheepishly whines about how he never voted for that war and was always against it. He has taken money from many in Washington circles to further his campaign, yet sniffles about how he is against influence peddling and will change everything. He asserts that he''s not one of the Washington insiders, the ones that need to be booted out of the city, yet he is as they are. He is no different than those who chastises and criticizes. His supporters have been successfully lied to and misled. And for Obama to assasil and casticate Hillary Clinton is a it much and like calling the kettle black.

[rowdytexan2]

I want a president with a record of making good decisions and of communicating persuasively to convince others to do the right thing. Fortunately, that choice is available.


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Posted by DoTheMath3 at 12:07 PM : Feb 26, 2008

Well, Obama lies a LOT! He''s rubber-stamped all of Hillary''s proposals and claimed them for his own! He''s supported NAFTA and free trade himself, and calls Hillary in supporting it...which she has not done...she has said at least ten times we need to take a step back from NAFTA. Has he done that? NO.

I want the candidate who made the plans and the platform! Not someone who just follows along.

[craigh9]

I can''t believe the Democratic Party leaders haven''t exercised pressure on Hillary to drop out of the race. Her continued attacks will only result in strengthening the Republicans position in the general election. It''s time to make her go away

[jack99123]

Barrack Hussein Obama:

Did you know that the recent chaos in Kenya is broadly caused by Obama''s cousin, Raila Amolo Odinga, who Obama has given a lot of money?

Did you know that since Obama got involved into Kenyan politics, it''s in the verge of a civil war?

Did you know that Obama and his cousin Raila, want to make Kenya an Islamic State? Visit this site and find a MoU between Odinga and Islamic radicles in Kenya http://eakenya.org/newsevents/article.htm?id=8

I''m a democrat of Kenyan decent, and I''m really SCARED by what people are getting into BLINDLY!

If Obama is the nominee I''m for McCain!

[future_watch]

DoTheMath3: if you''re looking for good decisions, pick a candidate who isn''t afraid to take on tough challenges, one who gets up every time she''s down to look for another way and tries harder. A candidate that was a self-admitted drug user isn''t exactly one I would tout as an excellent decision maker. Do you really think the GOP isn''t going to make a big deal of that?

[rowdytexan2]

"Over the weekend, Obama told an Ohio audience: "She was saying great things about NAFTA until she started running for president..."

And yes, Mr. Obama so were YOU! Get real!

[dothemath3]

Hillary Clinton says "we have to understand the past to make good decisions about the future." I agree. That''s why her record of supporting NAFTA, voting to give Bush power to authorize war in both Iraq and Iran (by declaring its military a "terrorist organization"), failing to make any progress at all toward health care reform on her previous attempt, and firing seven Travel Office employees and then lying about it all seem relevant to me. She has a record of making bad decisions and of alienating people she needed to persuade in order to get things done.

I want a president with a record of making good decisions and of communicating persuasively to convince others to do the right thing. Fortunately, that choice is available.

[comment3]

Reply to racist comment (below):
I don''''t think a half black man with a name like Barrak Obama is as AMERICAN as necessary to be the President of the United States!
****************************
What could be more American than an African American? African Americans helped build this country from the ground up!

What could be less American than promoting the cultural revolution associated with multinational corporate power, (i.e., New World Order) brought here by the good ol boy WASPs, undoing everything possible to destroy our national heritage? Ignoring local interests, outsourcing industry to China/India? What world do you live in?

[athy4]

Will some journalist please ask the candidate -What on earth was Obama thinking when he chose Zbigniew Brzezinski (ZB ) as one of his foreign policy advisors??? http://www.nysun.com/article/71123

ZB was one of main people responsible for convincing the US govt to arm the mujaheddin.

Zbigniew Brzezinski (ZB) endorsed Obama for presidentt. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/24/AR2007082402127.html
Lastyear,(ZB) was interviewed in http://www.counterpunch.org/brzezinski.html

During the 1960%u2019s and 1970%u2019s he (ZB) was so focused on fighting the evil Russian empire that he completely ignored the existence of radical Islamic fundamentalism. He gave poor advice to President Carter. The ramifications of his (ZB)being so blind-sided helped to nurture the evolution and expansion of Osama Bin Ladin%u2019s (and others) terrorist groups. In 1998, Brzezinski was interviewed by the French newspaper Nouvel Observateur on the topic of Afghanistan.
http://www.counterpunch.org/brzezinski.html

[moweddell1]

CBSNews pro Democrat? Article shows 24 paragraphs dedicated to the democratic candidates, mostly non issues and some "distraction'' material, but only a couple of lines on the Republican candidate. This is not fair or balanced! Thus, CBSnews is promoting their favorite candidate. Voters must have all information on all candidates in order to cast an educated vote. This bias material turns voters off to your obvius bias. Monty Ousley weddell, TX

[gary4books]

Obama wins Texas? Not if South Texas votes.

And Easty Texas is also a factor - they have always been part of the "old South."