None of the presidential candidates in Senate participated in yesterday’s vote to pass the free trade act with Peru. Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) released a statement opposing the bill, because, he said, “the Bush Administration has not proven that it will effectively enforce labor and environmental provisions, however good they may be.”

John Edwards, who has been an outspoken opponent of the Peru FTA, said he was “disappointed” by the bill’s passage. The agreement is “an example of how corporate interests and their lobbyists and cronies have corrupted the Democratic Party,” he said.

Iran: Republican candidate Mike Huckabee raised eyebrows yesterday when he said he was unaware of the NIE on Iran (ChiTrib).