In his response to Mr. Shieber’s comment, Professor Crane clarifies that his article does not suggest antitrust decisions are apolitical.  Crane agrees with Shieber that the ideological bent of the administration has some effect on antitrust outcomes.  However, Crane notes that antitrust has ceased to be a campaign issue and is almost completely absent from political debate.  Crane also criticizes Shieber’s use of the Bush administration’s settlement of the Microsoft antitrust case to support his opinion that antitrust enforcement is still highly partisan without first noting that the D.C. Circuit opinion—handed down at the very beginning of the Bush administration—damaged the government’s bargaining position.