Megan McArdle suggested last year that one way to choose a candidate was to look at their economic advisers and pick the candidate with the smartest team. That being so, she lauded the University of Chicago’s Austan Goolsbee, an advisor to Barack Obama. This week Goolsbee’s in trouble for suggesting that the grotesque nonsense on trade being peddled by the Obama campaign was largely political posturing in advance of tomorrow’s Ohio primary. Let us trust that he’s right.
According to a memo written by a Canadian diplomat at the Chicago Consulate:
“Noting anxiety among many U.S. domestic audiences about the U.S. economic outlook, Goolsbee candidly acknowledged the protectionist sentiment that has emerged, particularly in the Midwest, during the primary campaign. He cautioned that this messaging should not be taken out of context and should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans.”
Of course foreign governments know that there are some things that candidates say on the campaign trail that are for purely domestic political consumption.
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