An email on that Lighthizer op-ed:

Pretty weak case and you’ve done the right thing. But the “represented the steel industry” bit is veering close to a cheap shot. . . .

You’re right, it is, and I shouldn’t have written it. It could be read to imply that I think that Lighthizer does not sincerely hold the views he expresses. I have no reason to doubt the genuineness of his convictions. My point was rather that it is irritating for someone in his position to suggest that everyone on the other side of the debate is misled by ideology, while he is moved purely by his reasonableness.