There was a Clinton-Gore-Rubin-Gingrich consensus in the 1990s in favor of free trade and low tax rates on capital. The resulting tax cuts helped offset the damage of Clinton’s earlier tax increases. They helped sustain an economic boom. Now, each day brings further confirmation that most Democrats (and, it must be said, some Republicans) are abandoning the consensus, particularly when it comes to trade.

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Hillary Clinton responded to the question of whether she would be seen as a free-trade president like her husband. Here’s her quote:

“I think I’d be seen as a smart-trade president. I’m really rejecting the labels because I think they’ve come to mean things that aren’t very useful in what we should be talking about going forward.”

Translation: of course I understand, as my husband does, that free trade is the correct policy. But I’m seeking the nomination of what has become a protectionist party. Can we change the subject?