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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > February > 25 > Entry
FactCheck.org - Clinton and Obama both misleading
Now it’s Hillary Clinton’s turn to be fact-checked.
FactCheck.org, the truth-seeking Web site, previously found a Barack Obama mailer to Ohio voters misleading in its criticism of Clinton’s position on NAFTA.
Clinton put our her own mailer criticizing Obama on NAFTA and guess what?
FactCheck.org says the Clinton mailer “gives less than the whole truth.”
Maybe Clinton and Obama can sort it all out when they debate on Tuesday, Feb. 26 in Cleveland as their campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination heats up.
Here’s the new FactCheck.org analysis:
Clinton Edits ‘The Truth’ February 25, 2008 A Clinton mailer quotes Obama’s praise for free trade, but it omits his criticisms. Summary Hillary Clinton, stung by an Obama mailer that painted her as a supporter of the North American Free Trade agreement, is responding in kind with a barrage of postcards saying, “Ohio needs to know the truth about Obama’s position on Protecting American Workers and NAFTA.” But the mailer gives less than the whole truth.
It quotes two news reports of Obama praising NAFTA, but it fails to mention that both are from the same event and leaves out his calls for “fair trade” and increased enforcement - and his criticism of trade agreements negotiated “on behalf of multinational companies instead of workers and communities.” Analysis The Clinton campaign said its new mailer to Ohio voters is meant to counter an earlier Obama mailing that quotes Clinton as praising NAFTA. “In a campaign when you are attacked unfairly it is incumbent on you to set the record straight, and that’s what we’re doing in the mail,” Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson told reporters on a conference call Feb. 25.
Retaliation in Kind
We found the Obama mailer to be misleading in our Feb. 24 article. Here we judge that Clinton is retaliating in kind, with a somewhat misleading mailer of her own.
The mailer says, “Ohio needs to know the truth,” and adds, “It’s all on the Record.” But it quotes the record selectively to misrepresent Obama’s position.
The quotes come from two news accounts, one from The Associated Press and another from the Herald & Review of Decatur, Ill. What’s not said is that they are both reporting on the same 2004 campaign event in Shirley, Ill., when Obama was running against Republican nominee Alan Keyes for the U.S. Senate. And both are quoted selectively, omitting Obama’s criticisms of NAFTA.
The mailer quotes The AP account as saying, “Obama said the United States should continue to work with the World Trade Organization and pursue deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.” That’s accurate as far as it goes, but what’s left out is that Obama also said the U.S. needs to be more aggressive in protecting American interests and the interests of “workers and communities.” Here’s the pertinent section, in full:
Associated Press, Sept. 8, 2004: [Obama] said the United States should continue to work with the World Trade Organization and pursue deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, but the country must be more aggressive about protecting American interests.
"We don't want to set off trade wars. What we want to make sure of is that our farmers are treated fairly," Obama said. "The problem in a lot of our trade agreements is that the administration tends to negotiate on behalf of multinational companies instead of workers and communities."
The Decatur newspaper reported on the same event the following day. The Clinton mailer quotes this part of the article: “Obama said the United States benefits enormously from exports under the WTO and NAFTA.” But here’s what it left out:
Herald & Review, Sept. 9, 2004: [Obama] said, at the same time, there must be recognition that the global economy has shifted, and that the United States is no longer the dominant economy.
"We have competition in world trade," Obama said. "When China devalues its currency 40 percent, we need to bring a complaint before the WTO just as other nations complain about us. If we are to be competitive over the long term, we need free trade but also fair trade."
We agree with Clinton that any voter “needs to know the truth.” We just think it should be the whole truth.
-by Brooks Jackson Sources Christopher Wills. “Senate candidates speak on farm, trade issues.” The Associated Press, 8 Sept. 2004.
Ron Ingram. “Obama, Keyes court farmers - U.S. Senate candidates face-off - on agriculture issues near Shirley,” Herald & Review (Decatur, Ill.) 9 Sept. 2004. Related Articles Obama Mailings ‘False’? Clinton says Democrats should be “outraged.” You be the judge. Clinton-Obama Pillow Fight The Democratic front-runners meet in a civil and mostly error-free debate. They’ve Got You Covered? Obama and Clinton ads both claim all Americans would be covered by their health plans. Clinton’s would come close. Monday Night Quibbles No statements made of whole cloth, but some factual embroidery by Clinton and Obama.
Comments
By alice
February 26, 2008 12:05 PM | Link to this
I will be voting for Barack in November, but I will gladly support Hillary if she gets the nomination. The differences between the Dems and the Repubs are HUGE (as in the last couple elections) and we need to stop making wars out of little battles and support eachother. The truth is I could find a zillion “misleading” statements and actions by McCain, Hillary AND Barack because (!) they’re politicians and they didn’t get so far in life without playing a little dirty.By SJL
February 26, 2008 9:30 AM | Link to this
Factcheck.org shows that she left a very small portion of obamas comments, no it wasn’t misleading it was factual. Obamas was lies. Some of the posts on this blog are simply not based on facts, infact they border on ignorance, I can’t believe we the people are going to vote in obama who had one and a half years of national service before he began to run for the toughest job in the world, especially in the serious times we face. The facts are obama has lied about Hillary’s stance on NAFTA there has been report after report that has debunked his ads factcheck.org. And his healthcare flyer is an exact replica of the “harry & louise” ad perpetrated by the rightwing and insurance co. during the 90s that defeated Universal Healthcare. THIS act alone from obama tells me he doesn’t stand up to true Democratic values, along with his constant attack on Hillary in his speeches throughout this primary season. You know, obama just doesn’t have a grasp on reality here he has run the most divisive campaign against a fellow Democrat that I have personally ever seen and then believes he is going to become president and bring the rightwing to come together. This is unrealistic, we actually have deep philosophical beliefs and I am not looking for someone to cave into republicans to just get along. We are in serious trouble here folks, are economy is in deep trouble to the point that maybe we are reverting back to 3rd World status, our Foriegn Policy is disastorous and has been detrimental to our relations around the world, let alone we are in 2 wars and face other dangerous entities. Hillary knows how to deal and address with all these issues, she knows what to do, she doesn’t need a “handbook” telling her how to do them. She is the most qualified person to be our Presiden, she has had 20 years of Executive Internship, she knows how to work the beuracracies and knows that they need to be revamped with competant and qualified people, she knows where to begin, where to reform, and how to get it done. WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING ALLOWING THE MEDIA TO PUMP UP OBAMA TO THE POINT WE HAVE LOST ALL COMMON SENSE?By null
February 26, 2008 3:58 AM | Link to this
I wish they would factcheck who’s copying who’s ideas! Net Neutrality was discussed by Hillary with intentions to co-sponsor a bill in May of 2006 http://tinyurl.com/z2t7e Obama says he’ll co-sponsor it, but a month later than she did. http://tinyurl.com/b5h6f