(Subtitle: I never have anything nice to say about anyone, even people I like.)

This is not exactly surprising coming from Obama, but the timing is not the best:

China's huge trade surplus with the United States is "directly related to its manipulation of its currency's value," Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said in a letter released on Wednesday.

The blunt statement from the frontrunner heading into next week's U.S. election follows years of Bush administration refusal to label China as a currency manipulator.

It came in a letter to a U.S. textile group concerned about a surge in clothing imports from China when quotas negotiated by the Bush administration expire at the end of the year.

"China must change its policies, including its foreign exchange policies, so that it relies less on exports and more on domestic demand for its growth," Obama said in a letter to the National Council of Textile Organizations.

"That is why I have said I will use all diplomatic means at my disposal to induce China to make these changes," Obama said in response to a questionnaire from the group.

First, let's admit that politics are driving this issue. Obama is getting a lot of support from traditional Democratic constituent groups, including organized labor, plus he has shored up a great deal of support in the industrial Mid-west, which includes crucial swing states such as Ohio, Wisconsin, etc. – I guess you can throw Pennsylvania in there too. Moreover, this year North Carolina is also a potential Democratic pickup, so anything that makes the textile lobby happy is a big plus. None of these groups like China all that much, and Obama needs their support.

Second, Obama's written response to the textile group in question did not promise anything, just laid down some criticism – very well written, by the way. This is a pretty smart move in that Obama does not want his hands tied if he becomes president, and let's face it, the chance of an Obama Administration (or any U.S. president) actually making any significant changes to China policy is slim to none. 

The U.S.'s China policy has been relatively stable since the early 1970s, with only that one hiccup at the end of the 1980s. Despite some things said during the primaries, Obama has been fairly quiet on China in recent months. Personally, I would have preferred to have more debate about China policy so I could write about it, but on the other hand, I have been pleasantly surprised that this campaign has left out the usual anti-China rhetoric common to both the extreme Left and Right of American politics.

Third, I shouldn't be too critical of Obama and the Democrats for playing politics with this. McCain's best buddy, Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, has been getting traction out of the "currency manipulation" topic for years now. More recently, the Bush Administration stepped up to help out another Southern Senator who is in trouble:

Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a North Carolina Republican, is facing a tough challenge for reelection from Democratic state Sen. Kay Hagan, who has run ads criticizing Dole for supporting Bush administration trade deals.

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab came to Dole's aid last week by threatening to bring a WTO case against Chinese textile subsidies unless Beijing ended the programs.

Nice to have friends in high places. (On a fun side note, Dole's recent attempt to smear her opponent as "Godless" tells us not only how desperate she is, but also something about the central role of religion in American politics — if you didn't know this already. Maybe Richard Dawkins will go to North Carolina and campaign for Dole's opponent.)

Fourth, obviously everyone is trying to win in North Carolina at the moment, so this is driving the debate. However, with thousands of people in the Pearl River Delta losing their manufacturing jobs, is it really a great time to be complaining about this issue? I realize that politics almost always comes down to local issues, and the Pearl River Delta is pretty damn far away from North Carolina.

Note: apparently McCain didn't even bother to fill out that particular questionnaire, although I'm not sure he really cares about winning the election anymore, which is probably a good thing.

Happy Halloween!