PRESIDENT AND SENATOR CLINTON DIFFER ON COLOMBIA TREATY

President and Senator Clinton disagree over the Colombian free trade agreement, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign acknowledged yesterday after Web log writers for the Huffington Post and Politico posted accounts reporting that the former president supports the treaty.

“Senator Clinton is the candidate for president and she is a clear and firm opponent of the Colombian free trade agreement,” a Clinton campaign spokesman, Jay Carson, told Politico.

“Like other married couples who disagree on issues from time to time, she disagrees with her husband on this issue. President Clinton has been public about his support for” Colombia’s “request for U.S. trade preferences since 2000.”

The issue presents a rare public policy break between the Clintons, but it is not the first time they have differed over trade.

Mrs. Clinton has intensified her criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement during the campaign and says she may try to revise it as president, She also now says she privately lobbied against it while her husband was president, although she publicly supported the deal. Mr. Clinton has criticized the Bush administration’s enforcement of NAFTA, but he defends the decision to push it through Congress.

TOP CLINTON BACKER SAYS SHE SHOULD FIRE PENN

A top supporter of Senator Clinton says she should fire Mark Penn outright because of his meeting with Colombian officials to promote a trade deal she opposes.

Governor Rendell of Pennsylvania told USA Today that he would cut the former chief strategist off completely from the campaign. Mrs. Clinton demoted Mr. Penn on Sunday, but he still conducts polling for the campaign and participates in strategy calls. The Obama campaign officially joined the chorus yesterday, holding a conference call with top labor officials to pressure Mrs. Clinton to fire Mr. Penn.

ROCKEFELLER APOLOGIZES TO MCCAIN OVER CRITICISM

A West Virginia senator supporting Senator Obama apologized to Senator McCain after suggesting the presumptive Republican nominee was insensitive to the human costs of war. Senator Rockefeller was quoted by the Charleston Gazette as saying: “McCain was a fighter pilot, who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit. What happened when they [the missiles] get to the ground? He doesn’t know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues.” The State Journal reported Mr. Rockefeller apologized to Mr. McCain after the Republican’s campaign called on Mr. Obama to repudiate his remarks. A spokesman for the Obama campaign had said the Illinois senator disagreed with Mr. Rockefeller.

“I have deep respect for John McCain’s honorable and noble service to our country. I made an inaccurate and wrong analogy and I have extended my sincere apology to him,” Mr. Rockefeller said in a statement, the Journal reported. “While we differ a great deal on policy issues, I profoundly respect and appreciate his dedication to our country, and I regret my very poor choice of words.”

OBAMA, CLINTON RELEASE NEW TV ADS IN PENNSYLVANIA

The television ad wars in Pennsylvania intensified yesterday, as Senator Obama launched a spot aimed at female voters while Senator Clinton released five ads, including one in Spanish.

The Obama ad focuses on the personal rather than policy, and features testimonials from his half-sister, his grandmother, and his wife. Mrs. Clinton’s spots run the gamut from an ad highlighting her family’s ties to the state to clips featuring top supporters, including Governor Rendell and Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia. Mrs. Clinton is also running a spot criticizing President Bush on the economy. Pennsylvania holds its key primary on April 22.