Obama changing his positions for the general election on economic issues

The LA Times has an article about how unions are upset about Barack Obama's new chief economic adviser, Jason Furman. The claim is that he is sympathetic to free trade, Wal-Mart, private Social Security accounts and the policies of Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin.

WASHINGTON -- Labor union officials and some liberal activists were seething Tuesday over Barack Obama's choice of centrist economist Jason Furman as the top economic advisor for the campaign. The critics say Furman, who was appointed to the post Monday, has overstated the potential benefits of globalization, Social Security private accounts and the low prices offered by Wal-Mart -- considered a corporate pariah by the labor movement.

Officials from several labor organizations phoned the Obama campaign to complain about the appointment and circulated e-mail messages containing quotes from some of Furman's work. Campaign officials responded that some of the quotes were inaccurate or out of context. They expressed confidence in Furman's abilities and said that Obama would be listening to an array of advisors. . . .

Personally, I believe that Obama's views during the campaign are much closer to his voting record in the Senate and much closer to his true views, but it will be interesting to see if the media gives him any grief for appearing to change his positions.