While in Ohio, Barack Obama had stepped up to defend his wife’s patriotism. Recently, Michelle Obama was attacked by critics when she had said for the first time of her life, she was proud to be an American.
“What she was referring to is this was the first time she’d been proud of politics in America,” Obama said in his wife’s defense while addressing reporters when he took a tour of the National Gypsum plant in Lorain, Ohio.
He added: “She spoke about how she’d been cynical American politics, for a very long time but she’s proud of how people are participating and involved in ways they haven’t for a very long time.”
Obama would talk about his own patriotism and said he owes everything to America.
Obama would say: “You will recall the reason I came to national attention was a speech in which I spoke of my love for this country and the notion that I am disqualified because at one event I was singing the national anthem but failed to put my hand over my heart while I was singing, if that were the case that would disqualify about three fourths of people who have ever gone to a football game or a baseball game.”
Asides from defending his wife, Obama would also go on the offensive against US Democratic hopeful and co-frontrunner Hillary Clinton. He accused Clinton of taking credit and backing from things that are not convenient for her in a political sense. Obama would also stand firm on how he attacked Clinton on her stance on NAFTA.
“Every good thing that happened she says she was a part of and so the notion that you can selectively pick what you take credit for and then run away from what isn’t politically convenient that doesn’t make sense,” Obama explained. Again, he would imply that Hillary will take credit and when things get inconvenient, she would run away.
He added: “If she suggested she had nothing to do with economic policy in the Clinton White House then it would not be fair for me to bring it up but as you know, that’s not the claim that she is making.”
Asides defending his wife, Obama would use this opportunity to attack Clinton for supporting NAFTA. He said that NAFTA should be fixed and not repealed because as there are too many relationships with other countries. Obama implied that completely reversing NAFTA was unrealistic.
Obama would also link NAFTA with illegal immigration and other immigration related problems by saying: “Part of the reason that we have such a huge influx of immigrants, undocumented immigrants from Mexico and South America is because farmers were devastated by NAFTA, and nobody was thinking about them.”
It is highly likely that Obama will use NAFTA as ammunition against Clinton in future Democratic debates.
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