Paul Greenberg (born January 21, 1937) is an American syndicated columnist and author. He currently serves as the editorial page editor of t...
Paul Greenberg (born January 21, 1937) is an American syndicated columnist and author. He currently serves as the editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. His articles appear in various newspapers through Tribune Media Services syndicate. He won the annual Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing recognizing his 1968 work for the Pine Bluff Commercial (Pine Bluff, AR). in 1969. On September 27, 1980, then Arkansas Governor, and future president, Bill Clinton addressed the state convention and depicted himself as in the tradition of progressive governors in the state. In response, Greenberg dubbed Clinton "Slick Willie" and alleged he was a false reformer who was abandoning the progressive policies of previous governors such as Winthrop Rockefeller, Dale Bumpers and David Pryor. The phrase Slick Willie would go on to become a frequently used smear campaign tactic by Clinton's opposition throughout his political career.nnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Greenberg_(journalist)nnDuring the 1993 internal debate over the North American Free Trade Agreement, Clinton made clear her feeling that its passage was getting higher priority within the administration than it should, especially compared to the Clinton health care reform plan.[17][18][19][20] By most accounts, Clinton was also unenthusiastic about the merits of the agreement, believing it would cause of loss of American jobs and would be politically unpopular.[17][18][21][22] Once her husband decided to proceed with NAFTA, Clinton as First Lady participated in at least five meetings at the White House aimed at securing Congressional passage of the agreement,[23] which Gergen and former official Robert J. Shapiro felt showed she had been a "good soldier" in getting behind a settled decision,[21][22] but which other attendees interpreted as showing Clinton was in fact behind the agreement.[19] During later years of the administration and in her memoir, Clinton touted her husband's support for NAFTA.[24]nDuring her 2008 presidential campaign, Clinton repeatedly criticized the agreement,[23][25] despite it being one of the major achievements of her husband's administration.[24] She said, "NAFTA did not do what many had hoped. NAFTA was a mistake to the extent that it did not deliver on what we had hoped it would."[24] She did say that she believed in the underlying idea behind trade agreements such as NAFTA: "I believe in the general principles it represented. But what we have learned is that we have to drive a tougher bargain. Our market is the market that everybody wants to be in. We should quit giving it away so willy-nilly. I believe we need tougher enforcement of the trade agreements we already have."[22] She promised that if elected, she would work to implement changes to it that would benefit American workers,[23] saying "I want to be a president who focuses on smart, pro-American trade. I will review every trade agreement. I'm going to ask for revisions that I think will actually benefit our country, particularly our workers, our exporters... And NAFTA will be part of that review, to try to reform and improve it."[24]nIn 2005, Clinton voted against the Central America Free Trade Agreement,[26] believing that it did not provide adequate environmental or labor standards.[27] Again, she differed with her husband who, as the former president, supported the agreement.[28]nClinton, together with fellow New York Senator Charles Schumer, welcomed a 2006 decision by the United States Commerce Department that called for a 108.3% duty on imports from Chinese candlemakers, as the imports sought to circumvent an Anti-dumping Duty Order.[29] Clinton stated, "This is a real victory for the Syracuse candle-making industry. Our manufacturers deserve a level playing field and we owe it to them to make sure that others do not unfairly circumvent our fair trade practices. Syracuse has a proud history of candle production but attempts by importers to undercut our producers have put that tradition at risk. I am pleased that the Department of Commerce heeded our call to take action against these unfair practices and recognized the importance of this decision to local producers, especially here in Syracuse. We will continue to make the case on behalf of Syracuse candle-makers as the Commerce Department considers its final determination." Free trade proponents at the libertarian Cato Institute made a connection to Frédéric Bastiat's "Candlemakers' Petition", a satire of protectionism.[30]nnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Hillary_Rodham_Clinton Less
