Bush and Free Trade

Paperwight has a nice post about the inconsistency of the Bush administration on free trade. I know that there are more important questions at the moment, but it’s worth noting again that the administration that relentlessly sings the virtues of the free market doesn’t seem terribly interested in actually establishing one. The steel tariffs are only the most visible part of the story. Indeed, as more that a few have pointed out, the domestic manifestation of the Bush administration resembles crony capitalism far more than any libertarian paradise.