The Clinton/Obama Canada Kerfuffle
Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET
Barack Obama's wall of denials against charges that his campaign is cynically bashing NAFTA simply for vote-getting purposes started teetering this morning when someone leaked a Canadian government memo detailing a conversation between a top Obama economics adviser and some Canadian officials. Clinton flacks are of course using the development to slop up Obama's promise of a "new kind of politics," though they do so while issuing their own denials about reports that their campaign also confided in Canadian officials about the political motives behind their promises to scrap the trade pact. According to a new report, "Sources told CTV News that both camps called Canadian diplomats in the U.S. to say the candidates didn't really mean it. They were just looking for votes in Ohio, where the trade deal is blamed for massive job losses." A Clinton spokesman flatly rejected the report this afternoon and asserted that they "have had no contact with the Canadian government." We will be sure to report when pissed-off Canadian officials leak another memo debunking this assertion. You see, this is what happens when you screw with Canada.