Obama: Elizabeth Warren Is Simply Wrong On TPP

[Jim Lane]

134. About my agenda

You're apparently insinuating that my agenda was to make it personal, about Elizabeth Warren, and extol her. So, was I indeed "the one who immediately brought up Warren"? No. It was Obama who mentioned her by name. The HuffPo writer thought that Obama's mention of her was, literally, the headline from the interview.

My agenda is actually to have an informed discussion about TPP and TPA (and, down the road, TTIP). My main point was that Obama's statements in support of the agreement (statements couched by him as disagreement with Warren) were not justifiable on the current record, and could be shown to be not justifiable if judged by the same standards that his allies apply to criticism of the deal.

As for what I believe, I believe that the leaks that have occurred are far more likely than not to be accurate. I also believe that, if they are accurate at this late stage of negotiations, then the final agreement on those chapters will be exactly like or substantially similar to the leaked drafts. Finally, I believe that those provisions, if approved, would have major harmful effects, though I'd be disinclined to go along with the full force of the apocalyptic phrasing of your concluding paragraph.

Many of us give credence to the leaks. From that perspective, arguing for TPP based purely on trust in Obama amounts to saying, "Who ya gonna believe, me or your own lying eyes?"