Obama and NAFTA-More Lies of Just Flip-Flops ?

You might remember that during the ramp-up to the Ohio Primary Senator Obama said that he would renegotiate the NAFTA treaty. The controversy that caused surrounded his lack of foresight into the effects of the renegotiation (like higher oil prices), and the side conversation one of his advisers had with the Canadian Government ( "don't worry guys this is just for show") See Canada Has Documentation That Obama Lied About NAFTA

So what has the "good" Senator been doing about NAFTA since Ohio? Well that kind of depends whether you think he is lying or just flip-flopping. Take a look at this chronology of statements:

In February, Obama Pledged To Renegotiate NAFTA With The Threat Of
Withdrawing Unless It Was Renegotiated. Obama: "I Don't Think NAFTA Has Been Good For America - And I Never Have." Obama: "Ten years after NAFTA passed, Senator Clinton said it was good for America. ... Well, I don't think NAFTA has been good for America - and I never have." (David Espo, "Obama Hits Clinton On NAFTA Support," The Associated Press, 2/24/08)

"In their final head-to-head meeting before Tuesday's Ohio and Texas primaries, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) declared that they would opt out of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico unless those.two countries renegotiated the pact's labor and environmental provisions to the United States' liking." (Editorial, "At Best, A Pander," The Washington Post, 3/1/08)

That was then--THIS IS NOW:

In An Interview With Fortune To Be Featured In The Magazine's Upcoming
Issue, The Presumptive Democratic Nominee Backed Off His Harshest Attacks,On The Free Trade Agreement And Indicated He Didn't Want To Unilaterally Reopen Negotiations On NAFTA."

"Now, However, Obama Says He Doesn't Believe In Unilaterally Reopening
NAFTA. On The Afternoon That I Sat Down With Him To Discuss The Economy, Obama Said He Had Just Spoken With Harper, Who Had Called To Congratulate Him On Winning The Nomination."

Obama: "I'm not a big believer in doing things unilaterally. ... I'm
a big believer in opening up a dialogue and figuring out how we can make
this work for all people."

"'Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified,'
he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA 'devastating'
and 'a big mistake,' despite nonpartisan studies concluding that the trade
zone has had a mild, positive effect on the U.S. economy." (Nina Easton,
"Obama: NAFTA Not So Bad After All," Fortune, 6/18/08

So America Did he Lie or Flip Flop? Before you give your answer, remember that little Canadian incident when Obama adviser Goolsbee met with the Canadian consul general in Chicago and offered assurances that Obama's rhetoric was 'more reflective
of political maneuvering than policy See Canada Has Documentation That Obama Lied About NAFTA.

My vote is that he lied. It also gives additional credence to the Debbie Schlussel story where she found an old Obama buddy who said that his pro-Israel stance was just political posturing EXCLUSIVE - Obama's Nation of Islam Staffers, Edward Said & "Inflexible Jews" Causing Mid-East Conflict: An Obama Insider Reveals the Real Barack.