Obama Advisers Please the Right, But Not Much

If Barack Obama takes office, conservatives can take a small measure of comfort knowing that  two of his top economic advisers have generated angst on the left for being "centrist, pro-free-traders," writes Cesar Conda in the Weekly Standard. Austan Goolsbee and Jason Furman—the latter a Wal-Mart defender—have even earned praise from the likes of George Will. Still, Conda, warns, let's not get carried away.

"To date, they have shown little appetite for fighting for free-market views and appear perfectly comfortable working for a candidate who is running on a statist platform of protectionism and bigger government," Conda writes. Favorable reviews from admirers on the right will mean little if, for example, Obama gets into office and overturns NAFTA.