Right Man for the Job

Today, the President announced his choice for Commerce Secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, a Cuban-American former refugee who became CEO of Kellogg. This is certainly a choice with a political bent, to pick a Cuban during a time when the Administration has been criticized for its strict travel policy to the island. But frequently that's all the media sees, the race or ethnicity of these nominees (all of whom so far have been part of a minority group). They don't delve any deeper into the nominees' actual backgrounds. Like Gutierrez' history of downsizing:

In a move to cuts costs, Kellogg Company said it is considering the closure of the South Operations portion of its Battle Creek, Mich., cereal plant. The closure would eliminate up to 64 percent of the jobs at the facility.

"Streamlining our operations and avoiding future costs would help keep our North American cereal business cost-competitive going into the 21st century," said Kellogg chief exec Carlos Gutierrez.

So what exactly is going on with the blatant use of minority nominees? I think it's more than simply an olive branch to traditionally Democratic constituencies (although Bush got a healthy 44% of the Latino vote in this cycle). It's more about a kind of innoculation from the inept policies of these nominees. It's a chance for the Administration to play the race card if their choices are questioned in any way. More than just a marketing tool, it's a kind of Democratic bug spray.