The hysteria is unnervingly consistent: Toyota put profit before safety. But did it?

President Obama's treatment of Toyota, the biggest victim so far of his war on business, provides a glimpse of the president's vision of American government.

The Japanese car maker has been stung by a series of reports of customers experiencing out-of-control speeding, but there is no denying that all cars made today are better, cheaper and, yes, safer than they would otherwise be if not for Toyota's hard work over the last half century.

There are some ideas that, no matter how often they rise and how spectacularly they fail, just won't go away. Perpetual motion machines, for example. Passive exercise machines. Diets that work. These technologies sound great in theory, but don't seem to pan out in practice. Add to the list, electric (or largely electric) cars.

The trade policies that President Obama outlined in his State of the Union Address undermine the strength of America's economy, and are the wrong way to react to the changing nature of trade.

To create private-sector jobs and raise wages for those now working, we must make America a magnet for investment from abroad. A trade agenda to promote exports is one piece of competing in a global economy, but without an aggressive campaign to draw in foreign investors’ resources, the United States will miss key employment and economic growth opportunities.

Althoughvoice-over-IPservices company Vonage has cast its lot with the Federal Communications Commission, both must prevail in court against challenges from states and other groups.

Though news from Japan is slowly fading from the headlines, the woes of the world's third-largest economy are going to continue for years. The cumulative effect of all these problems is likely to drag down national confidence in the coming months.