The Economist, which, as we've noted previously, is one of those foreign press outlets less in thrall to President Obama, really lets the president have it in a scathing "leader" (British for editorial) on the decision to impose a 35% tariff on tires imported from China. The magazine, which endorsed Mr. Obama before the election, says the move is "bad politics, bad economics, bad diplomacy and hurts America." More:
Evidence of a weak president being pushed leftward might cause investors to worry whether he will prove similarly feeble when it comes to reining in the vast deficits he is now racking up; and that might spook the buyers of bonds that finance all those deficits. Looming large among these, of course, are the Chinese. Deteriorating trade relations between the world's number one debtor and its number one creditor are enough to keep any banker awake at night.
And never mind the bankers. How about the rest of us?