AP Photo

Free trade might not be the first casualty of an American election campaign, but it is right up there in the top rank. President Obama is bashing Mitt Romney for sending jobs to China when he ran Bain Capital, and Romney is returning the favor by accusing Obama of failing to label China a currency manipulator, and “being China’s doormat at the expense of America’s workers.” When the alleged unfair trading partner is China, which is threatening its neighbors and our allies with territorial claims backed up by a growing military, and using the earnings from trade to fund that military’s new ability to project power by adding aircraft carriers to its fleet, there is no reason to expect calm analysis from vote-hungry politicians.