The Media’s Panderbears, Part II: Hillary’s Campaign Has to Do the Job of the Fourth Estate
By SusanUnPC on March 10, 2008 at 3:23 PM in Bamboozling, Barack Obama, Economy, Energy Policy Act of 2005, Hillary Clinton, Media, NAFTA
[See Part I.]
While Barack Obama has resurrected his now-infamous “bamboozling” line that he exploited in South Carolina — this time today in Mississippi — Hillary Clinton’s press team has produced two top-notch press releases today that 1) hit Barack Obama’s vote for Dick Cheney’s energy bill and 2) Obama’s fifth waffling excuse for NAFTA-gate.
“You all know the okey-dokey, when someone’s trying to bamboozle you, when they’re trying to hoodwink you?” Obama said [today] to the crowd at the Mississippi University for Women. “You can’t say that, ‘He’s not ready on day one unless he’s willing to be your vice president, then he’s ready on day one.’”
From Hillary Clinton: Sen. Obama Offers 5th Explanation of NAFTA-Gate
After days of misleading denials, Sen. Obama has finally acknowledged that a meeting took place between his senior economic advisor and Canadian officials regarding NAFTA. But Sen. Obama now claims that the detailed memo obtained by the AP describing the meeting – and Goolsbee’s downplaying of Obama’s anti-NAFTA rhetoric – is inaccurate. This is at least the fifth different explanation offered by Sen. Obama and his campaign.
Somebody has to do the actual reporting (especially today while the media obsess over Spitzer, a story that writes itself [and the media love those because they needn't lift a finger]).
The factual history of Sen. Obama’s various evasive explanations for NAFTA-gate is below — as is Hillary Clinton’s statement today, “Hillary Clinton Statement on All-Time High Oil Prices,” which references Sen. Obama’s vote FOR Dick Cheney’s energy bill (and, yes, Sen. Clinton voted against that bill):
More history on NAFTA-gate:
1. 2/27/08 – ‘No conversations have taken place’ with the Canadian government on NAFTA. “Earlier Thursday, the Obama campaign insisted that no conversations have taken place with any of its senior ranks and representatives of the Canadian government on the NAFTA issue.” [CTV, 2/29/08]
2. 2/27/08 – Obama advisor just said ‘hello.’ “Goolsbee: Canada’s consul general in Chicago contacted him ‘at one point to say ‘hello’ because their office is around the corner.” [ABC, 2/29/08]
3. 2/28/08 – Rice: ‘There had been no contact.’ “The Canadian ambassador issued a statement that was absolutely false. There had been no contact. There had been no discussions on NAFTA. So we take the Canadians at their word…period.” [MSNBC, Susan Rice, 2/28/08]
4. 2/29/08: Sen. Obama: ‘It did not happen.’ Anchor: “So, completely inaccurate, did not happen, end of discussion.” Sen. Obama: “It did not happen.” [WKYC TV, 2/29/08]
5. 3/10/08 – Sen. Obama: The meeting did happen, they did discuss NAFTA, but advisor just said Obama wanted to make NAFTA ‘stronger for U.S. workers.’ “So here’s what happens. You’ve got one of my economic advisors goes and visits a Canadian embassy and they’re asking him questions and he says, ‘Well, Senator Obama isn’t planning to repeal NAFTA, but he wants to amend it to make it stronger for U.S. workers.’ The Canadian embassy writes it up as, ‘Well, maybe Obama is not as tough on NAFTA as you might think.’ And the Clintons start waving this and saying, ‘See? Actually, he’s the one.’” [Mississippi Rally, 3/10/08]
Check out more NoQuarter stories on NAFTA-gate.
Hillary Clinton Statement on All-Time High Oil Prices
Today’s record setting oil prices underscore the stakes in this election. The soaring cost of oil is dragging down our economy and driving up prices on everything from gas at the pump to food on families’ tables. Gas is approaching $4 a gallon in some parts of the country and the average American family is spending $2,000 more a year on their energy costs than they were in 2000. Americans need a president who is ready to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and fight global warming from day one, not someone who voted to provide new special interest tax breaks and giveaways to big oil companies. My opponent voted for Dick Cheney’s 2005 energy bill; I knew it would take us in the wrong direction.
For seven years, the Bush Administration has stood by as the price of oil has skyrocketed, now breaking $107 a barrel. As a result, companies like Exxon are reaping the highest profits in the history of the world-$40.6 billion in 2007 alone-and we are more dependent on foreign oil now than we were before 9/11.
As President, I will create a Strategic Energy Fund that will require big oil companies to reinvest some of their huge windfall profits in clean, renewable technologies. I will reduce the amount of oil we import by two-thirds from projected levels by 2030, or more than 10 million barrels per day. These steps are part of my overall plan to transition to a clean, green economy and create at least 5 million new green collar jobs in America.
Check out more No Quarter stories on the Energy Act of 2005 as well as Obama and Clinton’s statements on the energy issue.
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