Trade and the Rootsgap

by: David Sirota

Tue Feb 24, 2009 at 09:00

The most interesting thing about the poll, though, is not its numbers, but Gallup's analysis.

The pollsters note:

As with many policies, there are pluses and minuses to foreign trade. And while many economists and political leaders may hold a more pro- than anti-trade position, the public does not necessarily share that position. In fact, as the Obama administration seeks to preserve or expand current trade relationships, the public is slightly more likely to take a negative than a positive view of foreign trade.

As always, those who want to reform trade are billed as "anti-trade" - not, for instance, "pro-trade-reform." Anyone who thinks our current trade policies are bad must be portrayed as Luddite isolationists by the Establishment - it's standard operating propaganda.

But what's really interesting is Gallup highlighting the rootsgap - ie. the gap between the American public and elite opinion. Yes, Gallup couches it with mealy-mouthed terms like "not necessarily," but it's right there, and the more that rootsgap gets exposed, the better able we will be to narrow it.