Wait a sec- did Wolf Blitzer just advance the Obama-NAFTA thing, even though it's untrue?

[jsmirman]

Am I missing something?

Does this guy just get off on being inaccurate?

[joeybee12]

1. Well, maybe because it is true...it's just the Obama-ites who

get off on being innaccurate...his advisor met with Canadian officials after denying he did...that's a fact.

[easy_b94]

3. NO he did not!!!!!!!!!!!

[anamandujano]

5. YES HE DID!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Catherine Vincent]

21. LOL!

:rofl:

[joeybee12]

7. Does reality scare you? Obama denied they contacted the Candians

with a wink-wink...then the memo surfaced and then Obama had to backtrack and say, oh yeah, we did meet, but they misinterpreted it.

[jsmirman]

4. Link please?

Because that's not the most recent thing I've seen.

[woolldog]

11. link

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080305.wharpleak0305/BNStory/National/home

[hueyshort]

18. Better LINK right here

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/3/3/2835/02915

[woolldog]

27. That link is 3 days old

inaccurate, and not from a reputable source. Might as well link the National inquirer. :rofl:

[jsmirman]

32. I've responded to this in another part of the thread

in case you view the posts in a different default setting than I do.

[anamandujano]

2. There was a memo. It appears to be true. Factor in all the lying and

only admitting when they're caught.

It's true.

[LSparkle]

9. There was a memo that came AFTER the actual conversation at hand

which took place between the Canadian advisor and the CLINTON campaign, as it turns out.
Maybe Goolsbee also talked to the Canadians but so did the Clinton campaign. This round ends
in a draw in actuality, yet the media persists in leaving the impression that this was
all Obama's doing.

[woolldog]

10. Is it clear when this memo was written?

[LSparkle]

30. No but the memo was a recap of the conversation with the Clinton aide

not the Goolsbee conversation, as it turns out.

[anamandujano]

12. Can you name the Clinton advisor that you refer to because Hillary would like to know.

You can keep repeating the same old lie but we'll keep correcting you.

Obama got caught with his pants down again.

Suck it up, loser.

[anigbrowl]

20. I imagine he will be named, because there's now an official investigation

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/310350

'Privy Council Clerk' is a position with wide-ranging jurisdictional powers, like a special prosecutor.
It'll be interesting to see who was having a chat with Harper's Chief of Staff. My guess is Gene Sperling, but it's only a guess.

[joeybee12]

39. Please tell me how Obama did not lie when he said they never met

...then had to admit that Goolsbee did meet...regardless of who the memo is about (most likely G because this is just spin from the Obama camp)? They met!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LSparkle]

40. Obama was NOT AWARE of the Goolsbee meeting when he responded

It revealed a lack of communication within the campaign but it was
NOT a lie; it showed Obama himself to be out of the loop (which reflected
poorly on him) but he wasn't trying to hide anything with his response.

[Spazito]

14. The memo was not factual as has been stated by the agency

involved, the Canadian Consulate in Chicago:

"In the recent report produced by the Consulate General in Chicago, there was no intention to convey, in any way, that Senator Obama and his campaign team were taking a different position in public from views expressed in private, including about NAFTA. We deeply regret any inference that may have been drawn to that effect."

There were NO quotes from Mr. Goolsbee in the memo, simply the subjective opinion of a low-level staffer who was NOT the person who met with Mr. Goolsbee.

Mr. Goolsbee did NOT initiate the contact with the Consulate, he was responding to an invitation from the Consulate to tour the facilities and have an introductory meeting with Canadian Consul General Georges Rioux.

It is an invitation that goes out to many as a matter of courtesy.

[jsmirman]

28. One, let's see the memo. Two, it was written by a Canadian diplomat

so if you want to test the accuracy of the memo, the diplomat himself would have to speak out about that- otherwise, you have the Obama advisor saying that is not an accurate recollection of the conversation- you're not allowed to say that anymore?

As a former journalist, let me walk you through how this works. 1) Person A claims that Person B said a particular thing. 2) Person B denies saying said thing. 3) It is now Person A's responsibility to bolster their assertion that what was "said" was actually said.

4) It would at least be nice to have Person A comment on whether or not they even stand by their assertion.

5) The word out of the Candian Consulate, as we see above, is the exact opposite of any sort of bolstering for the initial assertion. Spazito, do you have a link, btw?

Unless I'm missing something, claiming that Obama is resonsible for contrary comments on NAFTA is highly irresponsible. And as I noted, it appears that Hillary's intentions wrt NAFTA are what is being currently examined (note that the linked article by the Hillary person was days old).

[Spazito]

33. I should have included the link when I quoted the Consulate...

I regret that omission, here it is:

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/03/03/obama-canada.html?ref=rss

The actual facts around the Obama controversy are quite different than those that are being touted on DU.

There seems to be a great deal of confusion in understanding there were two SEPARATE controversies, one involving a phone call to the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff from a Clinton campaign person, the other involving a visit to the Canadian Consulate in Chicago by Mr. Goolsbee. Here is a link on that controversy:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080305.wnafta06/BNStory/National/home

To me the big question is this:

How did a potential story about the Clinton campaign calling the PMO's office get ignored by CTV and, instead, turned into an Obama controversy.


Edited to add: the memo wasn't written by the diplomat that met with Mr. Goolsbee, it was written by a low level staffer putting his subjective opinion of what was discussed into a memo and sending it out. The memo contained NO quotes from Mr. Goolsbee at all.



"The news agency quoted that source as saying that Mr. Brodie said that someone from Ms. Clinton's campaign called and was "telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt."

The story was followed by CTV's Washington bureau chief, Tom Clark, who reported that the Obama campaign, not the Clinton's, had reassured Canadian diplomats.

Mr. Clark cited unnamed Canadian sources in his initial report.

There was no explanation last night for why Mr. Brodie was said to have referred to the Clinton campaign but the news report was about the Obama campaign. Robert Hurst, president of CTV News, declined to comment."


(quotes above to be found in the Globe and Mail link)

[jsmirman]

34. Thanks, sure sounds like a transposition with a lot of impact, and as per usual

no attempt to clear up the inaccuracies that they've strewn around like carelessly tossed cherry bombs.

[Spazito]

That's exactly it, the news outlet that started this firestorm of

inaccurate reporting has gone silent when called to account for it's actions. It is despicable, imo.

[jsmirman]

37. As a former journalist it's particularly disgusting to me.

You can't just excuse yourself from the table after you've spilled all over the tablecloth.

[anigbrowl]

15. Blowback is such an ugly thing

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/310350

It's now being investigated by a privy council clerk - this is the Canadian equivalent of a special prosecutor.

[OzarkDem]

6. No, its true, Obama said it

and all the spinning and Hillary bashing won't change it.

[k8conant]

16. How do you respond to what the Globe and Mail article said?

"He said someone from (Hillary) Clinton's campaign is telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt. . . That someone called us and told us not to worry."

[LSK]

8. of course, its Wolf

[TexanDem]

13. yes, I heard it, as well. Wolf is moron

[woolldog]

17. Obama campaign is even dumber

for not pushing back on this story.

[anamandujano]

19. They tried but the facts hit them where it hurts.

[woolldog]

25. No.

Watch Susan Rice's appearance on Tucker Carlson's show yesterday. She explained it beautifully, but didn't mention that Clinton campaingn's hypocrisy on the issue.

Im guessing you haven't read this article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080305.wharpleak0305/BNStory/National/home

[msallied]

22. What is UP with this whole debate on the NAFTA thing?

Anyone who thinks for one second that EITHER of these candidates would either reverse NAFTA or go soft on it, or even have the power to once they take office and have to face what could be a very different legislative makeup, is fooling themselves. It doesn't matter. I don't like NAFTA, but I don't see either of these candidates doing much about it other than using it to make campaign statements.

[hueyshort]

26. the Clintons will damned well do something about NAFTA

they aren't slackers once they get in office.

[thoughtcrime1984]

23. CNN and WOLF are hot garbage on a bad day

Just like Faux News.

[depakid]

36. Maybe worse than Fox

because some people still think that they have credibility....

[Jane Austin]

24. They've been doing that on MSNBC all day today, too.

Except for KO.

[casus belli]

29. Well, with no new news to report, I guess they want reruns...

Consider it an episode of "The Top 100 non-issues we've tried to make issues this election cycle".

[Coexist]

31. Please take the time to email him and let him know:

http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form4.html?

and include the links found in this:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/6/112830/8819

[Kokonoe]

35. I guess you did not get the meme

Obama did not do it, but its OK to say it, because the paper that says he did is real.

Clinton did it, but it was off the record.

[robertpaulsen]

38. Maybe he's afraid SNL will spoof him.

Who knew SNL was still relevant? Even after at least five years of being devoid of humor.