by John McCormick, updated
INDIANAPOLIS – Sen. Barack Obama said today that he found it “surprising” that Sen. Hillary Clinton’s top strategist would have been involved with a lobbying effort for a trade deal with Colombia.
“On the issue of how Sen. Clinton wants to handle it, I think that’s up to them, so I won’t comment on it,” Obama said when asked at a news conference about the recent demotion of Clinton strategist Mark Penn.
But he couldn’t help himself from weighing in.
“I think it was surprising to me that a high-ranking – if not the highest-ranking – member of Sen. Clinton’s team would be engaged in business activities and lobbying that was directly contrary to the position that Sen. Clinton had taken,” Obama said. “Let me put it this way, I’m not surprised that Sen. Clinton found herself in an uncomfortable position as a consequence. I know that if staff of mine were putting me in that kind of position, I would get rid of them.”
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It was recently reported that Penn met with Colombian officials as part of his job as CEO of a global public relations firm, prompting Clinton to demote him and shake up her campaign team.
That nation had hired Penn to boost its efforts to reach a free trade agreement with the United States, a deal opposed by Clinton and many labor leaders.
Obama’s campaign has used the controversy over Penn to try to gain support among union voters.
Clinton spokesman Jay Carson released the following statement in response: “When Sen. Obama’s top economic adviser told the Canadian government not to take his anti-NAFTA rhetoric seriously, he first denied that the meeting ever occurred, and when that proved false he took absolutely no action. It’s good to know he has a higher standard for our campaign than his own.”