It raises questions about Senator Obama coming to Ohio and giving speeches against NAFTA."
Clinton is competing with Obama for crucial Ohio votes in the Democratic primary on Tuesday.
The memo that has become a focal point in the race is the first documentation to emerge publicly out of the meeting between the Obama adviser, Austan Goolsbee, and officials with the Canadian consulate in Chicago.
The memo was written by Joseph DeMora, who works for the consulate and attended the meeting.
"Noting anxiety among many U.S. domestic audiences about the U.S. economic outlook, Goolsbee candidly acknowledged the protectionist sentiment that has emerged, particularly in the Midwest, during the primary campaign," it said. "He cautioned that this messaging should not be taken out of context and should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans."
But Goolsbee disputed the characterization from the conservative government official.
"This thing about 'it's more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans,' that's this guy's language," Goolsbee said of DeMora. "He's not quoting me. I certainly did not use that phrase in any way."
The memo obtained by the AP was widely distributed within the Canadian government. It is more than 1,300 words and covers many topics that DeMora said were discussed in the Feb. 8 "introductory meeting" between himself, Goolsbee and the consul general in Chicago, Georges Rioux.
Tristan Landry, a spokesman for the Canadian Embassy in Washington, said DeMora was not available for an interview Sunday. His only comment on the memo was to say that although consulate officials reach out to U.S. campaign officials to seek their views, "Canada does not in any way seek to interfere in U.S. electoral politics."
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said Goolsbee's visit was not as an emissary from the campaign, but as a professor from the University of Chicago. He was not authorized to share any messages from the campaign, Burton said.
Burton, who was on the call while Goolsbee described his visit to the AP, said, "It all boils down to a clumsy, inaccurate portrayal of the conversation."
Source:cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/03/03 /4894286-ap.html
