At long last, 11-member Pacific trade deal takes effect

[karynnj]

86. Nothing I said disagrees with that

The President always formally signs trade deal, but then needs to get them ratified. On TPP, Obama did win one vote - the one for fast track. The administration never pushed for a vote, though there were many articles in 2016 suggesting it would be taken up in the lame duck session because Obama wanted it passed while he was President. Hillary was not in the government in 2016, however, I think the nominee of the party certainly has influence.

I did not say she spent years campaigning against TPP -- in fact, she praised it even after she was President in her book, "Hard Choices". It was a key element of the "switch to Asia". She also praised it in the controversial GS talks given in 2014. It was in October 2015, as Sanders surged, that she came out against it -- even though she was still comfortably ahead. Not to mention, the agreement by October 2015 was stronger and better than it was earlier in the negotiations - including on the various issues she listed.

It is one thing to defend her and accept her explanation in 2016, but there is no reason to do so now. I think her decision there was both political and likely ultimately hurt her as it reinforced memes that she was "triangulating".

No, she was not the demagogue that Trump is -- or --- the ideologue that Sanders is. However, her shift likely played into Obama not pushing the issue in 2016. It impacted the number of Democrats who Obama would lose.