It should first be acknowledged that, as one of your liberal cousins to the north, I have followed your presidential nominations and the controversial NAFTA "scandal" with outright obsession a certain amount of interest. What drew me in was the prospect that your Democratic candidate might be a woman (though it should be stated that I would have been satisfied with any of the top three Dems); what changed my mind was the hypocrisy with which that candidate attacked her competitor for seemingly doing as she did; and what has kept me here is what has so many of you inspired. Obama is a once in a lifetime candidate, and I really believe that he will not only change your lives, but that he will change MY life and the lives of so many others around the world.
It was with much shame that I followed Clinton and Obama's campaigns as they swung through Ohio and traded barbs as to whether Obama backtracked on his anti-NAFTA stance in a private meeting between a campaign aide and the Canadian consular in Chicago. Frankly, it disgusted me that my government interfered, whether it was deliberate or not -- though my inclinations are to the former rather than the latter. I also found it disingenious and dishonest that my girl Clinton exploited the media's focus on Obama to score political points against him for something he was, at the time, only alleged to have done (through surrogates, no less), when it came straight from the PM's Chief of Staff that her campaign HAD ACTUALLY done it, recently, directly, with less ambiguity. I couldn't support that. And third, this may be an unpopular opinion, but like a lot Canadians, I actually like NAFTA, even though we have also lost jobs, even though we are continually lumped in with Mexico as having poor labour and environmental standards (which is a comparison we don't appreciate), even though you pay the same for Canadian oil as we pay for Canadian oil. I believe the pros outweigh the cons, that the job gains exceed the job losses, that the substantial increase in trade across our borders is a benefit to our partly-shared, partly-separate economies. But that's not the purpose of this diary, and I would kindly request that we perhaps save the debate for another day. I'm simply explaining the reasons for my interest. :)
Unfortunately, just a few minutes ago, I found this:
Republican presidential nominee John McCain has sought and received an invitation to Ottawa to give a speech next week on free trade.
McCain, an avowed free-trader, is slated to speak to the Economic Club of Canada in Ottawa on June 20 — a week from Friday.
Clearly McSame intends to remind voters of Obama's alleged double-speak on NAFTA. It is my hope that Obama tweaks and clarifies his position on NAFTA in the coming week before this talk to take the wind out of McCain's sails, because if there was any legitimate policy issue that had any traction to it in the primary, -- as opposed to issues of character and personal associations that are less legitimate -- it was NAFTA. The way I see it, how Obama maneuvers over the coming week or two will be critical.
Additionally, Canadian politicians are already speculating the following:
Indeed, Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae said McCain's speech, coming on the heels of the leaked memo, suggests that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government is playing favourites in the U.S. presidential contest.
...
While he said McCain is welcome to come to Canada, Rae added: "It does put Canada in the middle of the campaign in a way that I think reminds everybody how bizarre the Canadian government's position is."
McCain's choice of topic and venue is unlikely to be coincidental. Even if the nominee himself makes no mention of NAFTA-gate, the planeload of American reporters travelling with him will undoubtedly make the link, prompting yet more grief for Obama.
I'm not sure how much validity Rae's speculations have, but I can certainly attest that, like other Canadians here on dKos, I wouldn't trust Stephen Harper any farther than I could throw him. His government is notoriously secretive and partisan -- perhaps the single most secretive and partisan government we have ever had -- and though he currently governs from the centre, taking a partison interest in the outcome of your presidential election would not be beneath him.
Take care!
