2 Apr 2008

Obama: I don't carry a Council on Foreign Relations card or know any 'special handshake'

Worries about One World Order and a North American Union have been "ginned up by the blogs and the Internet," Sen. Barack Obama told a Lancaster, Pennsylvania audience in a stump speech as he continued his tour through the battleground state.

The Illinois senator also defended the recently re-authorized Patriot Act.

Responding to a question from the audience, asking whether he was a member for the Council on Foreign Relations, a group many allege is leading a move toward one world government, Obama said:

"I don’t know if I’m an official member. I’ve spoken there before. It basically is a forum where people talk about foreign policy. There is no official membership. I don’t have a card, or you know a special handshake or anything like that."

Sen. Hillary Clinton has spoken several times to the club. Comments she made today against NAFTA, were posted on the group's website.

Often, because the council has served as lightning rod for conspiracy theorists, candidates shy away from listing their affiliation with the group.

Vice President Dick Cheney is a former director but has taken pains not to publicize the fact.

The Raw Story | Obama: I don't carry a Council on Foreign Relations card or know any 'special handshake'