Obama's Roller Coaster Trade Ride

Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain traveled to Colombia and Mexico to talk free trade, a position he fully backs

He's supported every free trade agreement to go through Congress, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, Peru, Oman, China, Singapore.  McCain has a 100 percent free trade approval rating from the free-market think tank CATO.

Speaking with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, McCain pushed a free trade agreement with Colombia.

"A free trade agreement has been concluded between Colombian and Canada and a free trade agreement is being negotiated with the EU as well. I hope that a free trade agreement can be negotiated between our two countries."

The Colombian Free Trade Agreement has been held up in Washington by Democrats who oppose for reasons including that Colombia is one of the most dangerous countries for workers to organize.

Senator Barack Obama stands by the Democrats.

Obama supporter Ambassador Robert Gelbard.

 "Colombia is a country where it's really important to fortify the law. Labor leaders have suffered death because of impunity from groups both on the far right and the far left, he feels it's important to  make adjustments to this if he feels it's going to be successful."

But Obama's trade policy is coming under scrutiny as it might be shifting.

In a bitter primary race in Ohio against Senator Hillary Clinton, Obama took a tough stance against free trade, sharply criticizing NAFTA, saying he would unilaterally re-negotiate.   

But just before the Ohio primary, controversy arose over a meeting between the Canadian government and Obama adviser Austen Goolsbee, also a University of Chicago professor who supports many aspects of free trade. A memo leaked to the press said Goolsbee assured the Canadians that Obama's tough talk on trade was just typical campaigning. 

Seeming to return to the Goolsbee position taken with the Canadians,  Obama admitted to using "overheated and amplified" campaign rhetoric in an interview with Fortune Magazine last month.

Economic adviser, Jason Furman, says Obama's policy has always been the same, that he supports free trade as long as workers in all involved countries benefit and that environmental and worker protections are a cornerstone of the compact. He says Obama would amend NAFTA.

"You can read what Obama wrote in the Audacity of Hope, you can listen to what he's said in the primary in terms of what he's calling for in trade, it's identical.  It's for engagement with the world but engagement on a level playing field, engagement in a manner that's fair and engagement in a way that works for America's workers."

Todd Tucker, Trade researcher for Public Citizen says the Obama's trade policy has been inconsistent.

 "I think his campaign is trying to figure out what its trade position is. I think certainly they can learn from their own good performance in Iowa and Wisconsin."

PART 2

Now we turn to John Nichols, writer for The Nation Magazine.  As John points out, Obama's trade policy isn't the only position Obama seems to be adjusting.