Obama camp says records prove Clinton supported NAFTA
Barack Obama's campaign tried yesterday to capitalize on the release of Hillary Clinton's schedules as first lady by highlighting evidence of her early support for the North American Free Trade Agreement, even though she now criticizes it.
The Clinton campaign answered that she was always personally opposed to NAFTA, and accused the Obama campaign of breaking a pledge to avoid personal attacks.
Particularly before her big win in the Ohio primary earlier this month, Clinton harshly criticized the trade deal and said that, if elected president, she would seek changes to help American workers.
Union leaders and others blame the trade deal negotiated by President Bill Clinton's administration for the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs.
But the 11,000-plus pages of White House schedules, released Wednesday, show Hillary Clinton holding at least five meetings in 1993 that were aimed at helping win congressional approval of NAFTA. The papers, however, don't show what was discussed or what Clitnon said in those meetings.
The Obama camp issued a strongly worded memo yesterday that all but accused Clinton of lying to voters in Ohio and elsewhere by saying she had always disagreed with NAFTA.
"It's about trust," the memo says. "Working Americans are looking for a president who will be consistent in standing up for American workers - and have the integrity to be consistent in his or her views. Senator Clinton has failed that test. . . . American workers are already facing the uncertainly of a changing economy. The last thing they need is another president who changes views when there's an election coming up."
Responding to the criticism, Clinton's campaign issued a memo yesterday to supporters that asserts: "It is no secret that passing NAFTA was a priority of the Clinton administration, but numerous contemporary accounts make clear that Hillary Clinton was personally opposed to NAFTA, and her position on NAFTA was and remains consistent."
Clinton spokesman Phil Singer, in a statement, also accused Obama of going back on his word not to engage in personal attacks.
The Clinton memo, labeled "myths and facts" about the schedules, also says the Clintons were not responsible for delays in their release or for the portions that are blacked out.
The memo also asserts that the schedules back up her claims of valuable White House experience and show that her policy role was not diminished after Congress scuttled healthcare reform in 1993.
"The schedules cannot and do not speak to the substance of her meetings with staff, advisers, administration officials, citizens, activists, foreign leaders, and others with whom she worked on policy issues," the memo asserts. "That should be no surprise - it's not what they were created to do. What the schedules do show is an incredibly active and involved first lady, and add detail to the already voluminous public record about her work." 