I don’t have much faith in the Democratic candidates for President, and the way they’re running their platforms, I don’t have much desire for them either. But the Bush administration has played its politics fairly well, and if an issue I wasn’t particularly fond of comes around to bite George in the ass, I’ll have a good laugh.

In 2002 proponents of protectionist economic policies (along with a trade union or two) were adamant in their support of steel tariffs as high as 30%, claiming they were needed safeguards against an unfair international market. Now, a study sponsored by steel-using industries has concluded that the tariffs — and the higher prices they’ve generated — have cost the US manufacturing sector as many as 200,000 jobs.

Maybe this could serve as a lesson for everyone who claimed that protecting our markets against unfair trade abroad is a goal worth sacrificing the cornerstone values of a free market. It might also teach the Bush administration that sacrificing your ideals for political gain generates more problems than it solves.