Apparently my impression was poorly founded.
The Weekly Standard serves up piece by Irwin M. Stelzer titled "The Ghosts of Smoot and Hawley" that reports that trade protectionism remains intact in the bill.
And Stelzer gives us a golden sentence to quote:
(A) man who can one day sign a bill calling for $787 billion in stimulus spending, the next day commit a possible $275 billion to mortgage relief, and then convene a national conference on fiscal responsibility--followed almost instantly by a speech to Congress calling for massive spending on health care, education, and green energy, among other things--is not to be held to any standard of consistency, even the debased one applied to ordinary politicians.I withdraw the credit I had offered Obama on this issue, pending news that the trade restrictions have been removed for real.
