Posted on Friday, August 1st, 2008 by campaign2008
In a town hall meeting in Iowa on Thursday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) discussed his energy plan (Des Moines Register) and responded to news that Exxon Mobil made nearly $12 billion last quarter. “While big oil is making record profits, you are paying record prices at the pump, and our economy is leaving working people behind,” Obama said.
McCain adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin used the release of GDP data on Thursday as an opportunity to promote free trade. “When 95% of the world’s consumers live outside our borders, it is crucial that we do everything we can to expand markets for American goods and level the playing field for American businesses and workers,” he said in a statement.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Morning Update, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 by campaign2008
The Wall Street Journal is hosting an online debate on trade policy between an economic adviser to Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), Daniel Tarullo, and an economic adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Phillip Levy. Both have offered differed responses to collapse of the WTO talks in Geneva.In a Washington Post op-ed, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who advises McCain, assesses the changing conditions in Iraq and says a withdrawal from Iraq is not necessary to free forces for Afghanistan.
A new poll (LAT) shows a slim majority of Californians favoring increased drilling off their coast. McCain discussed his energy views with Colorado’s KRDO radio on Tuesday.
Obama praised the reauthorization on Tuesday of the global AIDS bill, which he said represents “a renewed and expanded commitment by the United States” to fight AIDS around the world.
Posted in Afghanistan, Energy Policy, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 by campaign2008
“[P]rotectionism not only puts a hidden tax on almost everything you buy, but it
undermines American competitiveness and costs jobs. Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside the U.S. Our future prosperity depends on opening more of these markets, not closing them.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in a speech Monday on his economic plan. For more on McCain’s trade stance, see this Issue Tracker.
“We do the cause of free-trade – a cause I believe in – no good when we pass trade
agreements that hand out favors to special interests and do little to help workers who have to watch their factories close down. There is nothing protectionist about demanding that trade spreads the benefits of globalization as broadly as possible.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Monday on his agenda for the middle class. For more on Obama’s trade stance, see this Issue Tracker.
Posted in Economy, General Election, Quote of the Day, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 by campaign2008
Though Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has long opposed drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska, he indicated Wednesday he is willing to reconsider that position (Springfield News Leader). “I would be more than happy to examine it again,” McCain said at a town hall meeting in Missouri.
McCain will travel to Canada Friday (LAT) to talk about free trade and argue against protectionism.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) released a statement Wednesday in honor of Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s sixty-third birthday. If the regime in Myanmar “continues its failure to protect the dignity, health and well-being of the Burmese people, the international community must be prepared to work harder toward effective coordinated action, including but not limited to action through the United Nations Security Council,” Obama said.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Morning Update, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 by campaign2008
“I don’t think an agreement that allows South Korea to import hundreds of thousands of cars into the U.S., but continues to restrict U.S. car exports into South Korea to a few thousand, is a smart deal. I don’t think that trade agreements without labor or environmental agreements are in our long term interests. If we continue to let our trade policy be dictated by special interests, then American workers will continue to be undermined, and public support for robust trade will continue to erode.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Monday in Flint, Michigan on U.S. economic competitiveness.
Posted in General Election, Quote of the Day, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Sunday in Virginia to discuss security in Iraq (AP/FOX) and the possibility of a future status of forces agreement.
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) may be vying for the position of Secretary of State in an Obama administration, Newsweek reports.
The New York Times examines Sen. Barack Obama’s critique of free trade with South Korea and Japan.
Posted in General Election, Iraq, Morning Update, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, June 12th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Wednesday that a date for troop withdrawal is “not too important” and that low troop casualty rates should be the priority. “Americans are in South Korea. Americans are in Japan. American troops are in Germany. That’s all fine,” he said. “The key to it is we don’t want any more Americans in harm’s way.”
Several Democratic leaders released critical statements in response to McCain’s comment.
In a speech Wednesday, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi criticized Sen. Barack Obama (BBC) for his recent statement that Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel.
The New York Times looks at objections among labor leaders to the recent appointment of Jason Furman as Obama’s economic policy chief. Labor has expressed particular concern over Furman’s approach to free trade.
Posted in General Election, Iraq, Morning Update, Palestinian-Israeli, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) responded to news of the U.S. trade deficit on Tuesday, criticizing “special interest-driven economic policies” that he said will increase the deficit but “won’t help American automakers secure fair treatment in South Korea, and won’t ensure that China stops devaluing its currency and tilting the playing field against American workers.”
In a speech on economic policy on Tuesday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said he would not renegotiate NAFTA, and repeated his promise that if he is elected, the United States will “honor its international agreements, including NAFTA, and we will expect the same of others.”
Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported Tuesday that McCain is planning a trip to Colombia (Politico) in July to meet with President Alvaro Uribe about the U.S.-Columbia free trade agreement, among other topics.
Posted in Latin America, Morning Update, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 by campaign2008
“I want to break down foreign trade barriers, so that America’s small businesses can compete abroad. When new trading partners can sell in our market, and American companies can sell in theirs, the gains are great and lasting. The strength of the American economy offers a better life to every society we trade with, and the good comes back to us in many ways — in better jobs, higher wages, and lower prices. Free trade can also give once troubled and impoverished nations a stake in the world economy, and in their relations with America.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in a speech Tuesday on economic policy.
Posted in General Election, Quote of the Day, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, June 9th, 2008 by campaign2008
“We do the cause of free-trade – a cause I believe in – no good when we pass trade agreements that hand out favors to special interests and do little to help workers who have to watch their factories close down. There is nothing protectionist about demanding that trade spreads the benefits of globalization as broadly as possible.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Monday on economic policy.
Posted in General Election, Quote of the Day, Trade | 0 Comments »
