One must assume that the 425 people who attended Bush's fundraiser in Pittsburgh, PA--aka "Steel City"--were the 425 people in that city who have absolutely no connection with the steel industry. Otherwise, they must feel pretty stupid for ponying up $2,000 apiece to support the reelection campaign of the man who the very next day may have screwed their industry over.
Here's the rough timeline for those who have not followed the international steel tariff fiasco:
1. U.S. imposes tariffs on foreign steel to protect domestic steel industry.
2. The E.U. and W.T.O. find those tariffs to be illegal.
3. The E.U. and W.T.O., sensing the only way to get through to Bush, threaten retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products--almost exclusively products from states that Bush needs to win the 2004 election, and that is not a coincidence.
4. Bush attends a fundraiser in Pittsburgh that nets him at least $850,000 for his reelection campaign.
5. With the money from Steel City in his pocket, he announces that he will lift the tariffs protecting the U.S. steel industry.
It might seem that when the international community decides something you are doing is illegal, then your only real option is to stop doing it. In that sense, in my limited understanding of the nuances of international trade, Bush did the right thing by lifting the steel tariffs. However, waiting to do it until after the area that has the most to lose coughs up some cash for his reelection was crass. And coughing up the cash before Pennsylvanians had a clear answer on an important regional issue was just plain dumb.
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