We have been duped; during Obama's trek for presidency he attacked Senator John McCain for driving foreign cars. Now we find he is a two-faced protectionist. Surprised -- probably not however, it is kind of ironic if you ask me. Let's not forget the "buy American" campaign logo designed to attack the McCain campaign. He argued that McCain was a hypocrite because he opposed a mandate requiring the gov't to buy American vehicles. I have said it before and I will say it again. There is nothing hypocritical about opposing nicely worded blackmail. We already have enough coercion on our books, we do not need anymore. 

Now to the point, the labor war is on again. This time with China. Is anyone buying this balderdash that is Obama? This is not about protecting American jobs -- make no mistake about it. We are once again paying off the unions. 

WSJ: The White House disclosed late Friday evening that the U.S. will impose stiff tariffs on imported Chinese tires used by millions of Americans. Perhaps President Obama thought he could minimize controversy by releasing the news on a weekend, days ahead of the September 17 deadline and two weeks before he will host Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh. But the protectionist signal he has sent in his first major trade-policy decision is unmistakable.

Mr. Obama has applied a previously unused part of the trade law known as Section 421. This allows U.S. industries or unions to seek protection from “surges” of Chinese imports, with a lower burden of proof than normal antidumping or countervailing duty cases. President Bush nixed the four Section 421 petitions that reached his desk, citing the national economic interest.

Domestic lobbies—including unions like the United Steelworkers that supported him during the campaign and filed this case looking for a political favor in return—hoped Mr. Obama would reverse that precedent, and they haven’t been disappointed. Such congressional protectionist stalwarts as Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) and Rep. Sander Levin (D., Mich.) endorsed Friday night’s move. “Today, the President courageously stood up and enforced fair trade rules that will save jobs and help our communities,” crowed Mr. Brown, who had enthusiastically supported the tariff proposal. It hardly matters that the 35% tire tariff is less than the 55% the International Trade Commission recommended. Despite that attempt at political and economic baby-splitting, the door is now open to more such claims.

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