Asian economy vs. Cheney or Hillary

This journalist says Asian countries don't like either one:

Perhaps a diversion to consider the fragile reputation of America's politics is necessary here. The lost war in Iraq has failed to make the US government honest - indeed, the opposite appears to have happened. Like an alcoholic on the run from his treatment clinic, wrecking drink cabinets, Vice President Richard Cheney stomped into the capitals of US allies as the unapologetic face of the most unpopular US administration in recent history.

In so doing, he caused more damage to America's friends than its enemies could possibly inflict in a one-week window. To name just two, Cheney's visit has virtually guaranteed Prime Minister John Howard's re-election defeat in Australia, [4] and rendered precarious the position of Pakistan's unelected President General Pervez Musharraf, who had the indignity of being admonished by the petulant "veep".

At home, the conviction of Lewis "Scooter" Libby has added another layer of concern for the besieged White House, while the poor treatment of its war veterans in hospital will likely depress even diehard Republicans. That leaves the field wide open for a Hillary assault on the presidency next year. I expect that on her way, Senator Clinton will put into play everything that the Republicans stood for, including free trade and a measured approach to China.

This is where the Asian response becomes critical. Expecting no help from the American consumer is one thing, but also to confront political assaults is an entirely different matter. The upshot is that Asian countries will be forcefully cajoled into allowing their currencies to appreciate against the US dollar in coming months, with people like US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urging action (as he did this week) sooner so that these countries do not have to confront something worse later on, viz a Hillary presidency.

More here:

Washington, DC (AHN) - Even as China is finally making some moves to liberalize its markets, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is urging it to do so more quickly. While the Republicans controlled the U.S. Congress, they watched as China protected its export market by depressing the yuan's value instead of allowing it to float against the U.S. dollar.

The yuan is undervalued by as much as 40 percent, which makes its exports extremely cheap and gives its exporters an advantage that is unfair, Bloomberg news reported on Friday.

But with record high U.S. deficits for both the federal budget and in American trade compared to China's massive budget and trade surpluses, it is unlikely that the Democrats will follow the failed Republican economic policy regarding China.

In a speech Thursday at the Shanghai Futures Exchange Paulson, saying that "time is of the essence," gave a nudge to the Chinese.

"An open, competitive and liberalized financial market can effectively allocate scarcer resources in a manner that promotes stability and prosperity far better than government intervention," Paulson said, according to Bloomberg news reports.

Telling the Chinese that their economy was unbalanced, Paulson listed steps they could take to bring it into balance, including letting the yuan float.

The need for the Chinese to balance their economy away from its focus on exports might help Paulson avert a growing bipartisan trend in Congress to move toward protectionism because the U.S. trade deficit, at $232.5 billion last year, is at a record high, Bloomberg news reported Friday.

Surging Chinese imports are costing American workers jobs and small manufacturers business.

Last year Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, pulled back from legislation that would have added a 27.5 percent tariff on Chinese imports.

But this year he is working with the Senate Finance Committee as they develop legislation to conform to rules of the World Trade Organization, while still putting pressure on the Chinese, according to Bloomberg reports.