Obama to Represent the Uprising on Trade?

Rejecting the fake centrism of Washington and the true centrism outside the Beltway, Barack Obama yesterday tacked back to the progressive middle on trade, slamming John McCain for pushing a corporate-written trade deal with the murderous Colombian regime.

From CBS News:

This morning, the Obama campaign argued that McCain's trip highlights his support for Bush's economic polices. In an email to reporters, spokesman Tommy Vietor wrote, "Senator McCain's trip to Mexico and Colombia just underscores his insistence on continuing George Bush's failed economic policies that have left nearly 2.5 million more workers unemployed -- including unfair trade deals that have been written by lobbyists."

Vietor also noted a New York Times report which says that McCain advisor, Charlie Black, earned $1.8 million for lobbying on behalf of the leading oil and gas exporter in Colombia. "This is more of the Washington politics that has left American working families struggling to compete in a global economy by putting the lobbyists and special interests first," Vietor said.

A few weeks back I wrote a newspaper column about how the politicians supporting the Colombian trade deal have blood on their hands - there's no other way to put it. I also wrote a newspaper column about how the populist uprising roiling the country means trade could be the single most decisive issue in the election. That is, if Obama stops flirting with Wall Street and starts representing the uprising of working Americans who are sick and tired of unfair trade policies.

Let's hope this is the start of the latter.

This is an ongoing series from the national tour for THE UPRISING. You can order The Uprising at Amazon.com or through your local independent bookstore.