Blame Canada (Update, Update II)

Canadian television, CTV, is running a story that an Obama staffer contacted the Canadian ambassador to the U.S. to tell him to never mind anything Obama might say about NAFTA during the Ohio Democratic debate the other night.

Within the last month, a top staff member for Obama's campaign telephoned Michael Wilson, Canada's ambassador to the United States, and warned him that Obama would speak out against NAFTA, according to Canadian sources.

The staff member reassured Wilson that the criticisms would only be campaign rhetoric, and should not be taken at face value.

This sounds a little fishy to me.

Why would Obama reach out to the Canadian ambassador when NAFTA also includes Mexico, where most American jobs are being outsourced. And why would Obama care what Canada thinks. They don't have a vote and have absolutely no way to make any arrangements within NAFTA without being on good terms with the U.S. Not to mention national campaigns have absolutely no time to worry about what non-voters are going to think about their message. And why in the world would the Canadian ambassador give ear to a candidate? That would be directly bypassing the president with a foreign treaty and could get any ambassador sent home.

If the story is true, it demonstrates the complete incompetence of the Bush administration. There really is no other answer to describe why a foreign ambassador would feel compelled to talk to a candidate about his country's trade agreements unless that ambassador felt it such a waste of time to deal directly with the person in charge. I knew Bush was a lame-duck I suppose I didn't realize the scope of it.

The whole thing sounds a little odd to me.

*Update:

Obama's camp denies the story.

**Update II:

ABC News is reporting that the Canadian embassy is now denying the CTV report.

"It didn't happen," said Roy Norton, who heads up the congressional, public and intergovernmental affairs portfolio for the Canadian embassy.

Norton said none of the three campaigns for Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton, or Sen. John McCain have contacted the embassy.

"Neither before the Ohio debate nor since has any of the U.S. presidential campaigns called Ambassador Wilson or the Canadian embassy to raise NAFTA," he said.

Honestly, why would any of the three campaigns contact Canada? It makes no sense to me. Even if they did contact the Canadian embassy why would the embassy even talk to them. If the story were true and I was George Bush I would be furious. He's the president, none of the three hopefuls are. It's his job to alert foreign countries about treaties and matters of state.