If the GOP takes Congress, one of the only foreign policy
areas where they could work in lockstep with the Obama administration is on the
push for free trade.
The projected
victory of Rob Portman in the Ohio
Senate race will increase support for free trade in Congress immediately.
Portman, the former congressman and former director of the White House Office
of Management and Budget, is an avid and open free
trade supporter. From May 2005 to May 2006, he was the U.S. Trade
Representative and describes himself as the "quarterback" of the drive to pass
the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in Congress.
In fact, Portman won in
spite of his views on free trade, which
the Democrats attacked as responsible for the losses of thousands of jobs
in Ohio.
If President Obama plays his cards right, he might be able
to use Portman to help build support in Congress for three
pending free trade deals that languished under the leadership of House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with Colombia,
South Korea, and Panama. A GOP-led House could be very open to such outreach.
Portman replaces retiring George Voinovich (R-OH).
Ironically, his main opposition on the issue of free trade could
come from Sherrod Brown, now the senior senator from
Portman's Ohio.
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