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Video on Clinton slamming Obama on NAFTA
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(CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton Monday questioned her Democratic rival's commitment to renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, a charge that Sen. Barack Obama's camp called a "blatant distortion."


Sen. Hillary Clinton campaigns early Monday in Toledo, a day before the crucial Ohio primary.

1 of 2 The line of attack came a day before crucial primaries in Ohio and Texas that could decide the Democratic presidential nomination.

Clinton raised questions in Ohio about Obama's position on NAFTA based on an Associated Press report.

The AP obtained a memo from a Canadian diplomat saying an Obama adviser had told Canada's government the candidate's criticism of NAFTA was "more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans."

But Austan Goolsbee, the Obama adviser, told the AP his statements were mischaracterized.

Clinton said Monday the memo should raise doubts about Obama's criticism of NAFTA, which is highly unpopular in Ohio after a large loss of manufacturing jobs there in recent years. Watch Clinton slam Obama on NAFTA »

"I don't think you should come to Ohio and tell the people of Ohio one thing and then have your campaign tell a foreign government something else behind closed doors," she said in Toledo. "That's the kind of difference between talk and action that I've been talking about throughout this campaign."


"Sen. Clinton knows full well that she's not telling the truth on this story, and that her blatant distortion is just part of her campaign's stated strategy to throw the kitchen sink at Sen. Obama in the closing days of this campaign," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.

"The truth is Sen. Clinton called NAFTA a victory and has switched positions for raw political reasons. Her false attack won't protect American workers, but as president, Sen. Obama will."

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said Goolsbee's comments came during an informal conservation on a walking tour of the University of Chicago, where the adviser is a professor. Plouffe described the AP report as overblown and inaccurate.

"This is being reported as if somehow this is an official meeting of an Obama representative and the Canadian government," Plouffe said. "That was not the case. He was essentially doing a walking tour and was essentially having a casual conversation and the report on that conversation was not accurate."

In a statement Monday, the Canadian Embassy in Washington said, "There was no intention to convey, in any way, that Sen. Obama and his campaign team were taking a different position in public from views expressed in private, including about NAFTA."

The memo controversy occurred as the two candidates tried to sway undecided voters in the final hours before the polls open Tuesday in Texas and Ohio.

Clinton's supporters, including her husband, have said she must win those two key states if she is to narrow the lead Obama enjoys in the delegate count and carry on her bid for the nomination.

Rhode Island and Vermont also will hold primaries Tuesday.

Clinton's supporters, including her husband, have said she must win those two key states if she is to narrow the lead Obama enjoys in the delegate count and carry on her bid for the nomination.

Rhode Island and Vermont also will hold primaries Tuesday.

Obama has won 11 contests in a row, and he leads Clinton 1,378 to 1,269 in national delegates, CNN estimates. Three-hundred-seventy delegates are at stake Tuesday.

Recent polls suggest the races in Texas and Ohio are tight, and Clinton has stepped up her attacks by questioning her rival's experience and ability to deliver on solutions.


Clinton may face pressure from prominent Democrats to drop out of the race if she loses either Ohio or Texas, especially since Republicans already have settled on Sen. John McCain of Arizona as their nominee. Watch Clinton relax with a beer »

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former presidential candidate whom both Clinton and Obama are courting for an endorsement, told CBS that a continued primary fight may do more harm than good.

"The Republicans are already united. This campaign is getting much too negative. The American people want us to be positive. They want us to talk about issues, and I'm just worried that the tone of this campaign has gotten excessively negative. And it may hurt us in November," he said Sunday.

Pennsylvania holds its primary April 22.

A "poll of polls" calculated Monday by CNN for the Texas race has Obama at 47 percent and Clinton at 45 percent, with 8 percent unsure. A CNN "poll of polls" for the Ohio race has Clinton ahead of Obama, 48 percent to 43 percent, with 9 percent unsure.


The Texas "poll of polls" is an average of five surveys conducted February 26 through Sunday: American Research Group, Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle/Zogby, MSNBC/McClatchy/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Mason-Dixon, Fox News/Opinion Dynamics and Belo/Public Strategies.

The Ohio "poll of polls" is also an average of five surveys conducted February 26 through Sunday: American Research Group, Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle/Zogby, The Cleveland Plain Dealer/Mason-Dixon and Fox News/Opinion Dynamics.