ONE OF THE RAPS ON THE UNITED STATES is that we’re nicer to our enemies than to our allies. Sadly, there’s a lot of truth to it, and it’s one reason our foreign policy efforts aren’t as successful as they should be.

Now it seems that we’re doing it again, with Colombia and free trade. It’s almost as if we’d rather have them selling cocaine and supporting terrorists than functioning as a democracy. More on the subject here and here. The incompetence and venality of America’s political class surprises even those of us who are paying attention.,

UPDATE: Various readers think I’m lax in not stressing that the Democrats are behind this. Okay. But Bush is letting them get away with it: “The Beltway’s favorite theme these days is the decline of the Bush Administration, but the trade story is about Democratic protectionism and a political double-cross. The President and business community should stop taking punches and start warning about the damage that the Levin-Pelosi Democrats are doing to the economy and to America’s image in the world.”