Quick--name the current (and outgoing) secretary of commerce.
Of course, you can't. It's Carlos Gutierrez. His official bio says he's "a core member of President Bush's economic team." Well, how "core" has he been during the past few months, as the U.S. economy has melted down? I don't recall seeing him much on the tube, explaining policies and proposals that would revive the economy. That bio boasts that he has traveled the world to promote US exports--and also notes that as co-chair of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, he has been actively working on US-Cuba policy. Hooray for that.
Gutierrez is a reminder that Commerce has been the backwater of the Cabinet. Can you point to a single commerce secretary of distinction in recent years? (Clinton's appointment, Ron Brown, got into trouble for taking big Democratic funders on his trade missions.) But the department does do a lot of important stuff: trade, the census, patents, trademarks, telecommunications policy. It includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is instrumental for developing science and policy relating to global warming. Wouldn't it be swell if it had a top-tier secretary?
With New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson bowing out as Barack Obama's pick for the job--a grand jury is examining possible links between contracting and political contributions to his PACs--Obama has the opportunity to make this a more serious Cabinet slot and to expand it from the usual definition: the voice of the business community in the White House.
Actually, say what you will about Richardson, I expected him not to be the usual commerce secretary, hyping U.S. business around the world. He is (was?) bigger than that--and has demonstrated he possesses a wider range of interests. Now possible replacement picks include Kansas Governor Kathleen Sibelius, who was shut out during the first round of Cabinet appointments, and Scott Harris, a Washington, DC. lawyer and trade expert. Pretty ho-hum. There's also Oracle President Charles Phillips and Leo Hindery, former CEO of the nation's largest regional sports network and policy adviser to John Edwards. These two picks might be more interesting. But what about, say, Eric Schmidt from Google? He's reportedly up for the new post of chief technology officer--which may be announced on Wednesday. But why not let Schmidt reinvent Commerce if he's not CTO? It would be heartening to see someone take this job and make it special.
You can follow me on Twitter.com--and see what I'm posting or where I am appearing--by clicking here.
![[RSS]](http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/templates/images/rss_icon.gif){kind=icon}
![[ARCHIVES]](http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/templates/images/archives_icon.png){kind=icon}
Comments
I know, how about co-secretaries? Let's try Ben and Jerry? They're good salemen and reps, and they're honest. I bet they'd come up with some hella flavors while flying around the world. haha
Posted by: Alan
| January 5, 2009 3:28 PM
wow richardson, how pertinent.
It seems that the outgoing Christian President and his gang of neocon thugs were so busy giving the green light to the Israelis to commit genocide that they forgot a minor detail: OBL. Of course, this oversight could be attributed to the fact that mass murder took place at a time when Jesus was born – and Mr. Bush must have been listening to his ‘higher father’ to know whether genocide in Gaza was permissible.
How likely is it that Osama bin Laden, the defender of the oppressed Moslems, “the perpetrator of 9/11” as they tell us, would remain silent in the face of the Israeli massacre of the helpless Palestinians in Gaza?
http://tinyurl.com/a2fgdo
Posted by: as_if!
| January 5, 2009 8:58 PM
Gov. Sibelius is out. Her husband is a federal judge and she won't be leaving him, nor will she leave the state of KS in the middle of a budget crisis. That's already been discussed and discounted. I think you better look farther west to WA....that governor is out of state and no one is talking....got a little info that she is up for a job check out Chris Gregoire and see what she may have to offer...Now there's a tip for you David.
Posted by: Annette
| January 6, 2009 9:30 AM
"We have to kill all the Palestinians unless they are resigned to live here as slaves."
Chairman Heilbrun of the Committee for the Re-election of General Shlomo Lahat, the mayor of Tel Aviv, October 1983.
Posted by: as_if!
| January 6, 2009 12:04 PM
Post A Comment