wow, nothing flies by those guys

Great. Now this can be put to rest.

This story yet again?

Guys chill, Obama is going to win big in Texas and VT, Ohio is too close to call so is RI, but even if Hillary wins Ohio, the margin will be too small and insignificant, she wont be able to make to the nomination. Her desperate and Machiavellian attacks against Obama are doing more damage to the Democratic Party. Her whole attitude that she has the right to be the nominee, exudes selfishness and generates antipathy among the voters.

What is Hillary's story on calling these folks?

Why is the follow up only about Obama?

Did Hillary call these folks?

Did someone from HRC's campaign call these folks and pose as Obama's campaign?

Hillary's camp was mentioned by these Canadian folks at CTV who obviously have publicized an erroneous story about Obama.

Why did this take so long? It actually didn't take too long - I think it's because we're in the "internet age" and we expect things to happen immediately.

wOW DavidV

that is a great one liner!!

Obama's campaign has 'fastbreak' politics..down cold.

All he said is that he did not call these people. They may have called him.

The ball is now in CTV's court.

Let's see what they have to say.

I will note one simple point, though: Goolsbee does NOT say that he didn't speak to these people, only that he didn't himself call them. I find that a very curious way of putting it. If he didn't talk to them, that would be a much stronger denial, and I don't know why he didn't make it.

Also, the Clinton campaign is going to have its own say on this point -- it will be interesting to see their take on the issue.

This is another NON-Denial Denial. I am surprised it fooled so many people.

What I hear is "I did not call them, but they may have called me"

At this point, a denial would be "I did not call them, they did not call me; no meeting occured, and I did not communicate the idea of Obama backtracking on NAFTA to anyone, including any Canadians, Mexicans, Martians or Vesuvians"

Yeah - DANG! That Obama campaign is really inspirational! A new kind of politics! When in doubt - deny, deny, deny!

What a minute - is that really new?

Parse words much?
And why the heck would the Canadians contact him? If they did, that would throw this entire thing right on its back. It would leave open to suggestion that Canadian officials were actively trying to set people up to make this story. Do you want to go there?

The superdelegate count--Hillary's only path to victory--is now 254-207.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/29/716368.aspx

It's over.

Enough.

Good God, Senator Clinton isn't even the nominee and I'm suffering from Clinton fatigue.

Renounce, reject. Again.

Hillary Clinton's glaring flaw as a leader is how absolutely conventional she is: she hits on a "stratergy", no matter how lame, and beats it TO DEATH.

Christ. It's the debate nonsense all over again.

He'll renounce. He'll reject. Her "point". Happy?

Now, where did this endless bullshit get us?

Drip. . .

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080228/turkey_Gates_080228/20080229?hub=Politics

Point: Senator Obama is now getting tested. This is what the general election will bring, and it will be brought incessantly. The alleged tough tactics of the Clinton campaign that some of Obama's supporters cannot stop bellyaching about will be seen as the minor league stuff that it is come July. Senator Obama's inability to put this thing to bed is not one of his shining moments.

How about this?: "We talk to all kinds of world leaders, including our great friends in Canada. We appreciate the good professor's support, but to the extent he may have conveyed in any way that I am not serious about fixing NAFTA, he was not speaking for the campaign and was definitely not speaking for me. Now the professor said he never said any such thing and I accept him at his word. My position on NAFTA was and remains clear".

Getting all twisted and hollering about the Canadian media is hardly a substitute for preparing for what will be a real tough campaign in the fall. This is peanuts.

An immediate knee-jerk denial at a time when others have made them and then had to backtrack because they couldn't realitically control every individual action of every supporter, would not have been the wisest action. Best to make the effort and take the time to make sure of the facts, get all your people on the same page, and then issue a forceful denial you know is accurate. It's what prudent people do.

Check this out guys. Straight from Canada!
---
A "source close to the Prime Minister's Office" has told ABC News who leaked some misinformation to CTV News this week about conversations between the Canadian government and Barack Obama's campaign. The alleged leaker? None other than Ian Brodie, chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Now, Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae sees this as pretty serious. He believes that the Harperites are actually trying to sink Obama's campaign.

"This is Republican International in action. The Harper government is so ideological and so tied to the Republicans that they will use any opportunity to throw a wrench into the Obama campaign," Rae says in an email sent out this afternoon. (Read the full email at the end of this blog post)
---
http://thestar.blogs.com/politics/2008/02/sourcing-a-cros.html

Read on, this is good stuff. Spread the word around too. The plot is thikening! :D

Someone up above wanted to find the original CTV story but couldn't. I happened to have copied it when it came out. The three stories that have appeared so far on CTV web site are below:
----------------------------
WEDNESDAY, AROUND MIDNIGHT
Updated Wed. Feb. 27 2008 11:45 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Barack Obama has ratcheted up his attacks on NAFTA, but a senior member of his campaign team told a Canadian official not to take his criticisms seriously, CTV News has learned.
Both Obama and Hillary Clinton have been critical of the long-standing North American Free Trade Agreement over the course of the Democratic primaries, saying that the deal has cost U.S. workers' jobs.
Within the last month, a top staff member for Obama's campaign telephoned Michael Wilson, Canada's ambassador to the United States, and warned him that Obama would speak out against NAFTA, according to Canadian sources.
The staff member reassured Wilson that the criticisms would only be campaign rhetoric, and should not be taken at face value.
But Tuesday night in Ohio, where NAFTA is blamed for massive job losses, Obama said he would tell Canada and Mexico "that we will opt out unless we renegotiate the core labour and environmental standards."
Late Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Obama campaign said the staff member's warning to Wilson sounded implausible, but did not deny that contact had been made.
"Senator Obama does not make promises he doesn't intend to keep," the spokesperson said.
Low-level sources also suggested the Clinton campaign may have given a similar warning to Ottawa, but a Clinton spokesperson flatly denied the claim.
During Tuesday's debate, she said that as president she would opt out of NAFTA "unless we renegotiate it."
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Wednesday that the candidates' criticisms of NAFTA were misguided.
"(They) should recognize that NAFTA benefits the U.S. tremendously," he said. "Those who speak of it as helpful to (just the) Canadian or Mexican economies are missing the point."
Liberal MP and finance critic John McCallum told Canada AM that the U.S. pulling out of NAFTA "would be a disaster for Canada."
But he added, "I hope and I believe that it's politics, because they're in a high-stakes contest. I believe after this nominee is decided, this issue will go away."
John Fortier, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise institute, said that in an effort to gain votes in the anti-NAFTA state of Ohio, each candidate might find themselves "locked-in" to their pledge to renegotiate NAFTA.
"Last night, both candidates really locked themselves in to at least doing some serious renegotiation," Fortier told Canada AM. "But how serious they are and what the changes (will be) . . . that's another question.
"But I don't know how Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton can get out of last night's very clear pledge that they are going to use the opt-out (clause) as a threat to do some serious renegotiation."
Crucial primaries in Ohio and Texas are just one week away.
During Tuesday night's debate, each candidate was quite specific about using the six-month opt-out clause in NAFTA, to pressure Canada and Mexico into renegotiating the deal.
The March 4 primaries are seen as vital for each candidate, but particularly Clinton. It's expected that without a decisive win in both Texas and Ohio, she has no chance of winning the Democratic nomination.
Clinton once had a large lead in each state, but recent polls are showing the candidates as close to even, with Obama surging ahead.
Early polls show that there is a strong possibility of a Democrat in the White House in January 2009.
Obama, in particular, is surging in popularity throughout the U.S. and some polls give the Illinois senator an almost double-digit lead if he were to run head-to-head against the expected Republican candidate, John McCain.
With a report by CTV's Tom Clark in Washington
=====================

FRIDAY MORNING, JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT
Opponents slam Obama after CTV story on NAFTA
Updated Fri. Feb. 29 2008 12:37 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff

Allegations of double talk on NAFTA from the Obama and Clinton campaigns dominated the U.S. political landscape on Thursday.
On Wednesday, CTV reported that a senior member of Barack Obama's campaign called the Canadian embassy within the last month saying that when Senator Obama talks about opting out of the free trade deal, the Canadian government shouldn't worry. The operative said it was just campaign rhetoric not to be taken seriously.
The Obama campaign told CTV late Thursday night that no message was passed to the Canadian government that suggests that Obama does not mean what he says about opting out of NAFTA if it is not renegotiated.
However, the Obama camp did not respond to repeated questions from CTV on reports that a conversation on this matter was held between Obama's senior economic adviser -- Austan Goolsbee -- and the Canadian Consulate General in Chicago.
Earlier Thursday, the Obama campaign insisted that no conversations have taken place with any of its senior ranks and representatives of the Canadian government on the NAFTA issue. On Thursday night, CTV spoke with Goolsbee, but he refused to say whether he had such a conversation with the Canadian government office in Chicago. He also said he has been told to direct any question to the campaign headquarters.
During a candidates' debate Tuesday, both Democratic party leadership contenders -- Obama and Hillary Clinton -- suggested they would opt out of the North American Free Trade Agreement if core labour and environmental standards weren't renegotiated.
The CTV exclusive also reported that sources said the Clinton campaign has made indirect contact with the Canadian government, trying to reassure Ottawa of their support despite Clinton's words. The Clinton camp denied the claim. The story caught the attention of Republican front-runner John McCain on Thursday.
"I don't think it's appropriate to go to Ohio and tell people one thing while your aide is calling the Canadian ambassador and telling him something else," McCain said, referring to Obama. "I certainly don't think that's straight talk."
On Thursday, the Canadian embassy in Washington issued a complete denial.
"At no time has any member of a presidential campaign called the Canadian ambassador or any official at the embassy to discuss NAFTA," it said in a statement.
But just yesterday, one of the primary sources of the story, a high-ranking member of the Canadian embassy, gave CTV more details of the call. He even provided a timeline. He has since suggested it was perhaps a miscommunication.
The denial from the embassy was followed by a denial from Senator Obama.
"The Canadian government put out a statement saying that this was just not true, so I don't know who the sources were," said Obama.
Sources at the highest levels of the Canadian government -- who first told CTV that a call was made from the Obama camp -- have reconfirmed their position.
NDP Leader Jack Layton said in question period Thursday that Canada should take advantage of any openings to renegotiate NAFTA.
"Why won't the prime minister take the lead here, exercise some sovereignty and bring about some change here that would be good for workers?" he asked.
However, Harper had a warning to anyone contemplating renegotiation of the trade deal.
"If a future president actually did want to open up NAFTA, which I highly doubt, then Canada would obviously have some things we would want to discuss," Harper said.
But Harper also noted that assertions made in the heat of political campaigns should be taken with a grain of salt. During the federal election in 1993, former prime minister Jean Chretien threatened to back out of NAFTA's precursor -- the Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by the Tories in the 1980s.
With a report from CTV's Washington Bureau Chief Tom Clark and files from The Canadian Press

============

FRIDAY, JUST AFTER NOON
CTV:
Obama campaign mum on NAFTA contact with Canada
Updated Fri. Feb. 29 2008 12:32 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Despite repeated requests, Barack Obama's campaign is still neither verifying nor denying a CTV report that a senior member of the team made contact with the Canadian government -- via the Chicago consulate general -- regarding comments Obama made about NAFTA.

Allegations of double talk on the North American Free Trade Agreement from both the Obama and Clinton campaigns dominated the U.S. political landscape on Thursday.

On Wednesday, CTV reported that a senior member of Obama's campaign called the Canadian government within the last month -- saying that when Senator Obama talks about opting out of the free trade deal, the Canadian government shouldn't worry. The operative said it was just campaign rhetoric not to be taken seriously.

The Obama campaign told CTV late Thursday night that no message was passed to the Canadian government that suggests that Obama does not mean what he says about opting out of NAFTA if it is not renegotiated.

However, the Obama camp did not respond to repeated questions from CTV on reports that a conversation on this matter was held between Obama's senior economic adviser -- Austan Goolsbee -- and the Canadian Consulate General in Chicago.

Earlier Thursday, the Obama campaign insisted that no conversations have taken place with any of its senior ranks and representatives of the Canadian government on the NAFTA issue. On Thursday night, CTV spoke with Goolsbee, but he refused to say whether he had such a conversation with the Canadian government office in Chicago. He also said he has been told to direct any questions to the campaign headquarters.

During a candidates' debate Tuesday, both Democratic party leadership contenders -- Obama and Hillary Clinton -- suggested they would opt out of the North American Free Trade Agreement if core labour and environmental standards weren't renegotiated.

The CTV exclusive also reported that sources said the Clinton campaign has made indirect contact with the Canadian government, trying to reassure Ottawa of their support despite Clinton's words. The Clinton camp denied the claim. The story caught the attention of Republican front-runner John McCain on Thursday.

"I don't think it's appropriate to go to Ohio and tell people one thing while your aide is calling the Canadian ambassador and telling him something else," McCain said, referring to Obama. "I certainly don't think that's straight talk."

On Thursday, the Canadian embassy in Washington issued a complete denial.

"At no time has any member of a presidential campaign called the Canadian ambassador or any official at the embassy to discuss NAFTA," it said in a statement.

But on Wednesday, one of the primary sources of the story, a high-ranking member of the Canadian embassy, gave CTV more details of the call. He even provided a timeline. He has since suggested it was perhaps a miscommunication.

The denial from the embassy was followed by a denial from Senator Obama.

"The Canadian government put out a statement saying that this was just not true, so I don't know who the sources were," said Obama.

Sources at the highest levels of the Canadian government -- who first told CTV that a call was made from the Obama camp -- have reconfirmed their position.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said in question period Thursday that Canada should take advantage of any openings to renegotiate NAFTA.

"Why won't the prime minister take the lead here, exercise some sovereignty and bring about some change here that would be good for workers?" he asked.

However, Harper had a warning to anyone contemplating renegotiation of the trade deal.

"If a future president actually did want to open up NAFTA, which I highly doubt, then Canada would obviously have some things we would want to discuss," Harper said.

But Harper also noted that assertions made in the heat of political campaigns should be taken with a grain of salt. During the federal election in 1993, former prime minister Jean Chretien threatened to back out of NAFTA's precursor -- the Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by the Tories in the 1980s.

With a report from CTV's Washington Bureau Chief Tom Clark and files from The Canadian Press

excerpt from counterpunch.com:

February 29, 2008

Count Me Out

The Obama Craze

By MATT GONZALEZ

NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT:

Regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement, Obama recently boasted, "I don't think NAFTA has been good for Americans, and I never have." Yet, Calvin Woodward reviewed Obama's record on NAFTA in a February 26, 2008 Associated Press article and found that comment to be misleading: "In his 2004 Senate campaign, Obama said the US should pursue more deals such as NAFTA, and argued more broadly that his opponent's call for tariffs would spark a trade war. AP reported then that the Illinois senator had spoken of enormous benefits having accrued to his state from NAFTA, while adding that he also called for more aggressive trade protections for US workers."

Putting aside campaign rhetoric, when actually given an opportunity to protect workers from unfair trade agreements, Obama cast the deciding vote against an amendment to a September 2005 Commerce Appropriations Bill, proposed by North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan, that would have prohibited US trade negotiators from weakening US laws that provide safeguards from unfair foreign trade practices. The bill would have been a vital tool to combat the outsourcing of jobs to foreign workers and would have ended a common corporate practice known as "pole-vaulting" over regulations, which allows companies doing foreign business to avoid "right to organize," "minimum wage," and other worker protections.

Matt Gonzalez is a former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and is running on Nader's ticket as a vice presidential candidate.