It certainly was difficult to sell NAFTA because it's always difficult to sell open markets.

In the history of the world, no one has ever washed a rented car.

One of those disturbing tendencies in academic life is that there is a desire on the part of many in the name of open-mindedness to fall into a kind of relativistic denialism in which all positions are equally legitimate, all positions must be respected, and compromise must be entered into no matter what the starting point or reasonableness of the two parties.

With uncertainty in oil markets, a buildup of speculative pressures and the large U.S. current account deficit, there is a real possibility that Paulson's crisis-management skills will be tested.

It says something about this new global economy that USA Today now reports every morning on the day's events in Asian markets.

It's important to remember how fortunate we are as a country to have a currency and a bond market that is seen in every way as a source of strength and it's a huge responsibility for us to keep it that way.

Blaming speculators as a response to financial crisis goes back at least to the Greeks. It's almost always the wrong response.