I caught David Gergen on one of the political shows, and his comment that HRC had always opposed NAFTA surprised me, especially considering how many times she’s supported it publicly. During the Ohio debate, Tim Russert played several video clips in which she stated her support for NAFTA, one as recent as 2004, and she’s never given public indication of opposing NAFTA until now.
On another show just the other day, Lawrence O’Donnell, who was chief of staff of the relevant Senate committee during the 90s, contradicted Gergen:
“-O`DONNELL: You`re right, Dan. By the way, I was working with Hillary Clinton at the time in the Senate when she was trying to pass her health care plan. And her only problem with NAFTA was she wanted it to go after the health care plan because if that`s come through the same committee that I was running and so, her problem was just sequential. She`s never been against NAFTA until this campaign.”
I find both Gergen and O’Donnell credible, which makes reconciling their accounts somewhat difficult. One thing is clear, Clinton has never publicly opposed NAFTA until recently. Her recently rediscovered opposition thus looks less principled than expedient.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23394339/