Specifically, and all of a sudden, Mr. Obama wants a new Cabinet-level post that will be known as the Secretary of Business. "I've said I want to consolidate a whole bunch of government agencies," he said Monday, in a performance that captured his Presidency in miniature. "We should have one Secretary of Business, instead of nine different departments that are dealing with things like getting loans to SBA [the Small Business Administration] or helping companies with exports. There should be a one-stop shop."
Mr. Obama then blamed Republicans for opposing this inspiration that no one had ever heard of until he disclosed it to the hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe." ...
Maybe Republicans would have opposed the Secretary of Business if they'd learned about it somewhere besides cable news, but who knows? The reasons could include turf, but also the fact that the government already has an agency with a "focus on expanding the American economy and job creation" and that "invests in America's long-term growth and competitiveness"
It's called the Department of Commerce, with its very own Secretary, and the quotes in the preceding paragraph are how the White House describes its mission in its 2013 budget. Mr. Obama wants to expand Commerce spending by 5% to some $8 billion annually. Extra credit goes to anyone who can name the acting Commerce Secretary.
Perhaps if we had a Secretary of Explaining "Stuff" our president wouldn't have made such a foolish statement.
In my heart, I guess I figure the president is thinking that a single governmental entity to lobby would be more convenient for big businesses who'd rather make money by rigging the rules than by innovating and providing better products and services to customers.
I think our federal government is too damn big when our president, after four years of holding cabinet meetings, still doesn't know who all those people sitting at the big table with deputies and aides crowded behind them in chairs next to the walls actually are.
