Morning Update: Iraq, NAFTA, Bloomberg
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) engaged in a general election-style war of words over Iraq policy. Meanwhile, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) explained the progression of her position on NAFTA. In an interview with PBS’ NewsHour Wednesday, she said NAFTA’s negative impact was “not so obvious in the economy” until the Bush administration took office because “they stopped enforcing trade agreements, they really stopped going to bat to try to keep jobs in this country.”
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ended speculation that he might run for president as an independent Thursday with an op-ed in the New York Times. Bloomberg also weighed in on some of the hot issues of the campaign, saying the candidates “must know better” than to think the United States can fix the economy “by isolating America from global trade,” or to think the issue of immigration can be resolved “with border security alone.”
Evangelical leader John Hagee endorsed McCain for the Republican nomination Wednesday. At a press conference, Hagee praised McCain for his support of Israel.
