Two Knives in the Back

From Fortune Magazine:

Obama says he doesn’t want to unilaterally reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement: “In an interview with Fortune to be featured in the magazine’s upcoming issue, the presumptive Democratic nominee backed off his harshest attacks on the free trade agreement and indicated he didn’t want to unilaterally reopen negotiations on NAFTA.” During the Democratic primary campaign, Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton clashed over NAFTA as both told voters they had problems with the deal — but Clinton accused Obama of not being as serious as she was about making changes to the trade pact.

From Glenn Greenwald:

Barack Obama got around to issuing a statement and — citing what he calls “the grave threats that we face” — he just announced that he supports this warrantless eavesdropping and telecom amnesty “compromise”:

Given the grave threats that we face, our national security agencies must have the capability to gather intelligence and track down terrorists before they strike, while respecting the rule of law and the privacy and civil liberties of the American people. . . .

After months of negotiation, the House today passed a compromise that, while far from perfect, is a marked improvement over last year’s Protect America Act. . . It does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses.

It is not all that I would want. But given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as President, I will carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps I deem necessary to protect the lives -– and the liberty –- of the American people.

There you have it, folks. Democrats being Democrats, backing off important issues, telling us that they really weren’t serious about opposing Bush’s illegal wiretaps or NAFTA. Business as usual.

What next – Obama says he really favors free market solutions to health care? Wouldn’t surprise me.

What’s really interesting about Obama backtracking on NAFTA is the response of some Democrats – “refreshing honesty” they called it! It’s a marvel to watch them fall in line, just as they did with Clinton as Clinton governed from the right after leaving a knife in their back.

Nothing to see here, folks. Business as usual. Move along now.