Opinion: Controversial aide still has Barack Obama’s ear

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Barack Obama’s top economic advisor has taken a lower profile in recent weeks following a furor over a conversation he had with Canadian officials in Chicago over the North American Free Trade Agreement.

But there is no question that Austan Goolsbee remains deeply involved with the Democratic presidential candidate, based on an e-mail sent out by Obama’s campaign today.

The e-mail was a copy of the Illinois senator’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, for a town hall meeting in Gary, Ind., that focused on the economy. Near the end was an accidental cut-and-paste of an earlier internal campaign message when a draft of the speech was being prepared.

In that message, Goolsbee was listed first among a lengthy list of Obama aides and advisors.

As Obama settled in for his campaign appearance at a site just 30 minutes from his house in Chicago, Obama confessed that he was thinking about busting out.

‘This is the closest I’ve been to home in five days,’ he told his audience at a high school. ‘I was thinking about making a break for it.’

Showing his local acumen, he mentioned the South Shore Line train that would have him home in less than an hour. ‘But we’ve got some work to do right here,’ Obama said, returning his focus to Indiana’s May 6 primary -- a contest shaping up as an especially crucial faceoff between him and Hillary Clinton.

-- John McCormick

John McCormick writes for the Swamp of the Chicago Tribune’s Washington bureau.