John McCain…

NAFTA-Gate or Smokescreen?

I haven’t BLOGged in a while due to my family battling the FLU and other illnesses, but I wasn’t the only one who caught a bug; Obama fever has engulfed the nation by storm.  Fortunately, as with all campaigns, his honeymoon hot streak is coming to an end, and the media is asking “where does Obama stand on NAFTA”, and “does his relationship with alleged felon, Tony Rezko, undo his self-characterization as a new voice in Washington?”

Right now, you may be asking yourself, “what does NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, have to do with anything?”  Alot.  Many of Ohio Democrats and Independents have blamed NAFTA for their high unemployment rate, that they believe has rendered them bankrupt and/or financialy exhausted.  Obama has taken the opportunity over the last few weeks denouncing the NAFTA agreement to garner campaign supporters, which has concerned Canadian officials whose country has benefited from NAFTA.

Due to this, news reports have surfaced regarding a meeting between Obama’s economic advisors and Canadian officials, where Obama’s camp has allegedly promised that his campaign rhetoric is just that, rhetoric.  Of course, Obama outright denies any sort of conversation, but the candidate was left without a satisfactory answer when a memo surfaced detailing the exchange with Canadian officials; Obama’s advisors and staff claim the memo was inaccurately recorded.

 The other issue with Mr. Obama is his relationship with Chicago businessman Tony Rezko, who has been arrested and is standing trial for extortion, money laundering, and fraud; Mr. Rezko has been helping Obama fundraise in Illinois combined with a previous land deal that could be considered an undocumented campaign contribution, which has resulted in questions around Obama’s campaign for “Change” in Washington.

Only time will tell whether this story is indeed the Clinton dubbed “NAFTA-Gate” or an Obama “smokecreen” fact!