Pres. Obama should take a lesson from Lincoln, our brightest President (also Pres. McKinley, see * below). Lincoln (and Henry Clay before him) campaigned for, and ultimately implemented, an economic policy that made us the envy of the world. It consisted of these three core policies:
1. protecting industry through selective high tariffs (especially 1861–1932) and through subsidies (especially 1932–70)
2. government investments in infrastructure creating targeted internal improvements (especially in transportation)
3. a national bank with policies that promote the growth of productive enterprises rather than speculation.
NAFTA, GATT, and now, most egregiously, TPP violate core policy # 1.
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_School_%28economics%29#Implementation