I think the critical part of this story is not so much what the candidate’s positions are on NAFTA, but instead about Obama’s campaign saying one thing in public and another thing behind closed doors. Obama’s campaign is largely based on how he will transcend beyond “politics as usual” and will lead instead with hope, honesty and inspiration. Obama claims his strong suit is his ability to unite people with straight talk and exercise good judgment in spite of what is convenient within the realm of political positioning. If Obama’s platform is true, this closed door meeting between Obama’s top economic advisor Austan Goolsbee and Canadian officials is in direct contradiction with his primary campaign rhetoric. This meeting sounds like the usual political game playing that happens behind the scenes and he’s certainly not being a straight shooter to the American public. Both Obama and Clinton believe in globalization and free trade (both are far from being protectionists). They also agree that NAFTA has not been favorable to certain parts of America, particularly in places like Ohio where thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost. The Canadian memo has no reason to embellish or misconstrue what was said in the meeting with Goolsbee. The American public and media has been so enthralled with Obama’s speeches that they are not realizing that although inspirational, Obama is still a politician and is not always doing what is “right”- he is doing what is convenient. It is worse that something like this would happen in Obama’s campaign compared to any other candidate because it seems that his whole campaign is based on his holier than now rock star image.
