Will these words come back to haunt me?

It's not often that I am quoted in the International Herald Tribune (which, for the uninitiated, is the international edition of the New York Times):

People in all six countries surveyed thought Obama's election would be good for the United States...."I believe that the U.S.A. will be the driver of the world recovery," said another respondent, Ted Foan of Chesterfield, England. "His leadership will be crucial for engaging other countries, especially if he can change perceptions of America's role in the world."

Given Obama's difficulty in getting his fiscal stimulus package through Congress and the signal that he is prepared to impose protectionist measures against the rest of the world, I am getting a little worried that any recovery in America will not benefit its trading partners as I had hoped.

So it is a bit of a relief to hear that the "Buy American" message is being re-thought. Let's hope Obama has the cojones to see that it is in America's interest to support free trade as widely as possible.