Obama, NAFTA, and the Media

I don't know what to make of this story making the rounds that behind the scenes the Obama campaign was reassuring the Canadians that all of his tough talk about withdrawing and renegotiating from NAFTA is all idle talk. Today, a memo emerged that purported to support the supposition that his campaign did indeed meet with the Canadians and assured him that all his tough talk was nothing more than campaign rhetoric.

Here is what we know so far. Last week, CTV, a Canadian station, reported that a top Obama advisor, David Goolsbee, met with a Canadian diplomat (then not named but later identified as Joseph Demora) and told the diplomat that all of Obama's harsh criticism and threats against NAFTA were only idle talk and not to be taken seriously. In other words, according to the report, Obama was merely pandering for votes and telling people what they wanted to hear. He had absolutely no intention of following through on campaign promises. The Obama campaign denied that such a meeting took place. Now, this memo has surfaced and the Obama campaign has pivoted and they now claim that the Canadians misinterpreted their position.

That, frankly, is a big deal. Obama isn't campaigning as the most experienced. He isn't campaigning on any specific issue. He isn't campaigning by promising to do something someone else isn't promising to do. He is campaigning as this new kind of politician. This entire fiasco puts all of that into question. That means that it is the presses duty to find the truth and let the public know. If this is a smear job or a miscommunication then we need to know that. If this is true we also need to know that.

I, frankly, don't know and because most of this happened behind closed doors it is likely that the truth will likely never fully come out.

What I do know is that if the media structure was different this would spell the end of the Obama campaign. Here is what this purported memo means if true. This means that Obama is being totally disingenuous with regards to trade. It means that he is pandering for votes on rhetoric that he has no intention of following through on. It means he is making campaign promises he knows he has no intention of following through on. Basically, if this memo is true then the entire theme of Obama's campaign is a total fraud. Obama, it would turn out, is just like every other politician and only talks a good game. Remember, Obama is running as a different kind of politician. That is a lofty standard to live up to. Politicians like that can't afford to pander. If this memo is accurate that is exactly what he did. That is a big deal and if the press were fair they would be diligently trying to get at the truth. This would be the story heading into Ohio and Texas, and if it was it would spell the end of his campaign.

Now, I don't know the truth of the matter, and furthermore, I have little confidence that the media will investigate it fully and find out. Thus, we are likely left with more questions than answers. Furthermore, the only ones that will be asking the questions will be those that already oppose Obama. The public at large will likely hear little of this memo and its importance in the campaign.

That is the continued shame of this campaign. The media has largely stayed out of the way and allowed Obama to create this theme without ever challenging its validity, and then throughout they have protected him against too much criticism. After his wife made controversial comments that made her appear anti American, no network besides Foxnews covered the story.

I maybe wrong and the press may in fact give this story the attention it deserves, however if past actions are any indicator this story will quickly fade away into oblivion without getting at the truth.