Obama's About-Face on Colombia

My latest column for CNN.com looks at President Obama’s belated decision to back the U.S. Colombian Free Trade Agreement.

My latest column for CNN.com looks at President Obama’s belated decision to back the U.S. Colombian Free Trade Agreement.

Finally. In a speech this week, President Obama urged Congress to ratify the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement "as soon as possible."

He also urged action on stalled trade deals with South Korea and Panama. These words represent an amazing turnabout for President Obama. As a candidate, Obama excoriated all three trade deals, U.S.-Colombia most of all.

Here's candidate Obama in April 2008, opposing the Colombia deal in a speech to the AFL-CIO in Pennsylvania, 18 days before the Democratic primary in that unionized state: "The violence against unions in Colombia would make a mockery of the very labor protections that we have insisted be included in these kinds of agreements."

You have to understand something about Colombia to appreciate the perversity of candidate Obama's position.

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