This A.P. report says that the WTO's ruling against U.S. tariffs "is squeezing the White House between political and economic interests as President Bush weighs the sanctions' fate -- and his reelection prospects." Actually, what the WTO ruling does is tip the domestic political balance against protectionism. Its threat of retaliatory tariffs gives the steel-consuming industries potential allies in other industries. And, most important, it gives the Bush administration Big Bad Foreigners to blame for forcing it to do what it knows is right.
