CAFTA

Last night's passage of CAFTA in the House is a massive win for both President Bush and the broader free trade cause. Opponents, including the dreaded sugar lobby and most Democrats, threw everything they had at stopping the treaty and still lost. Had Bush lost it surely would have spurred increased talk of a lame-duck presidency. Let's hope that some of the momentum from this win gets transferred to the WTO's Doha round of negotiations, on which I am much more pessimistic. If Bush can get a deal done on Doha he will go down as a big champion for the cause of free trade.

:

Oh, and let's not forget to thank Tom DeLay, whose superior ability to rally the troops has come through for the President once again. Conversely, let's not forget the naked partisanship of Democrats in the CAFTA debate, who appear far more interested in defeating Bush than passing a measure that in large part benefits the poor in other countries. As I've said before, these are profoundly unserious people, and putting them in power is something we can ill afford in these serious times.

:

Update: Good CAFTA story here. (via polipundit.com)