Beyond the Dome

No, no, not that Michael Moore.

The other Michael Moore — the distinguished economist who once served on President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers and is now the director of the Institute for International Economic Policy at The George Washington University.

This Michael Moore was one of 100 economists who signed a letter, helpfully circulated by John McCain’s campaign this morning, that warns Barack Obama’s economic policies could throw the country into “a deep recession.” Some might say we’re headed there anyway, but the point of the letter is that his trade and tax policies could make matters even worse.

It’s also a sign that, as the global economic crisis only seems to get worse, McCain may have decided he can’t change the subject from the economy after all.

And yes, Moore understands the weirdness factor that occurs when anyone named Michael Moore sides with McCain on trade policies. Safe to say, he’s been dealing with the Michael Moore issue for quite a while now. “When I call for a reservation at a restaurant in D.C., I never know if I’m going to get the worst table or the best table,” he said.

But back to substance. Michael Moore the economist is a bit more forgiving toward Obama than the ominous tone of the group letter. He notes that Obama doesn’t talk about opposition to trade agreements as much as he used to, and may even be sympathetic to international trade at some level. His real concern, though, is that Congress — which is almost sure to remain in Democratic hands — “will be pushing him much farther than he wants to go.”

So if China, for example, feels pressure to respond to the economic crisis by increasing exports to the United States, and the Democratic Congress pushes Obama to resist, the result could be “a tit for tat trade war” that makes the crisis worse, said Moore.

He doesn’t think McCain should raise the issue at tonight’s debate, though. Trade is too complicated, and the benefits are too hard to explain, to people who are hurting now and are convinced that trade is a major cause of their problems, he said.

Clearly, though, Michael Moore the economist has raised profound questions about the combined effect Obama and a Democratic majority would have on the financial crisis. If only Michael Moore the filmmaker would make his views known in some way, then we would once again be able to tell them apart.