Bush Bashes Clinton (and Obama) with His Mighty Might!

[ZombieHorde]

By Peter Baker (I added "with his Mighty Might" because I am a dork.)

President Bush waded further into the presidential race today, slamming Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama for "empty, hollow political rhetoric" on trade and warning that they would make "a reckless mistake" by retreating from agreements to lower barriers with other countries.

Although he did not name Clinton or Obama, he left little doubt whom he was talking about, at one point even mocking Clinton's promise to take a "timeout" from free trade agreements if she becomes president. "You know, some have called for a 'timeout' from trade," he told the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce shortly after Clinton addressed the group. "I guess that's probably popular with the focus group. You know, they toss out the word 'timeout' from trade -- it's got this kind of catchy little title to it. In the 21st century, a timeout from trade would be a timeout from growth, a timeout from jobs and a timeout from good results."

Bush, who used his speech to push Congress to pass a pending free trade agreement with Colombia, noted pointedly that Clinton's husband, Bill Clinton, was a strong supporter of opening markets when he was president and quoted from his predecessor's remarks when signing legislation to implement the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 14 years ago. Hillary Clinton, seconded by Obama, has abandoned NAFTA, saying she would threaten to opt out of the pact if Mexico and Canada did not agree to renegotiate it. "Listen, NAFTA has worked," Bush said. "People shouldn't back away from NAFTA. It's been a positive development for a lot of people."

snip

Clinton fired back later in the day. "We don't need lectures on trade from a president who has turned back the clock on worker and environmental protections, allowed our trade deficit to skyrocket and stood idly by while countries like China unfairly manipulate their currency and dump products like steel on the U.S. market," she said in a statement. "In fact, the reason we so desperately need to take a timeout from new trade agreements is to put a stop to the Bush Administration's reckless and destructive trade policies."

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Link:
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/12/bush_bashes_clinton_and_obama_1.html?hpid=topnews