Smoke Him Out

In Colombia Journal, Garry Leech looks at the Obama position on free trade, and how his support for this darling of Wall Street is in contradiction to his stated support for human rights. As Leech observes, Obama cannot serve both those who financed his campaign as well as those who bear the brunt of policies designed by and for them.

The bailout of Wall Street, rewarding the banks for reckless behavior, serves as a reminder of the distance between rhetoric and reality in national politics. As successful politicians, Clinton and Obama know how to blow smoke—that is what they do.

If we expect real change, we will have to force Obama to choose between human rights and human greed. Indeed, we will have to smoke him out.