Real Clear Politics

Real Clear Politics has a segment of MSNBC's Hardball where Chris Mathews interviews David Axelrod, former Obama senior advisor. Axelrod had this to say regarding Clinton's non-commitment on the TPP.

DAVID AXELROD: Look, we've got a situation where people now are, the median income in this country is about what it was in 1989 and there is a great deal of anxiety about that and there is a great deal of anger about what is seen as the rigging of the system. That is real. But I think Hillary's fundamental approach reflects the mainstream of the Democratic party. And I don't really believe -- I think she'll be the nominee of the party. I think people have will have a fling with Bernie. Bernie is like a great fun date because you know he's not going to be around town too long and I think you're going to see people flirt with that. But at the end of the day, I think she's going be the nominee and she'll incorporate elements of a more populist agenda but it's going to be in a growth frame... It was a little easier for President Clinton because he wasn't the Secretary of State in charge when these negotiations began and when she left in December of 2012, she was in Australia, she called the TPP, she said it was going to be the gold standard for trade agreements, so this is very, very freighted for her. This is difficult terrain to navigate because she owned this to some degree and now she has to try navigate through it. So it's going to be challenging for her.

my bold

Clinton's excuse that she must wait to actually see the TPP agreement before making any definitive comment seems rather disingenuous in light of Axelrod's statement. I don't know how she reconciles this. The TPP seems like an albatross for Clinton.

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But, Clinton does seem to be polling great so I guess there's nothing to see here.

UPDATE: I probably should explain that I have very strong feelings about the TPP. As a lifelong environmentalist (click my username for about 700 diaries with the tag environment) I view the TPP through the prism of its effect on climate change. What little we do know about the TPP shows it to be a disaster for the environment and will actually exacerbate climate change. I think we must stop it at all costs. So I can not support a candidate who would support such a disastrous treaty.

Clinton is not a strong climate candidate. She is a mega fracking supporter who has not been able to articulate a position on the Keystone XL pipeline. She's better than a climate denier, but that is about it.

