I realize that the [tag]Consumer Product Safety Commission[\/tag] is not exactly the most well known agency in the federal government, but has some fairly important responsibilities, and how Bush has decided to staff the Commission says a lot about his administration.<\/p>\n
When Clinton was president, he appointed Ann Brown to chair the CPSC, which is responsible for reviewing thousands of consumer products to see which, if any, pose a health risk and might need to be recalled. Brown had spent 20 years as a consumer advocate and served as vice president of the Consumer Federation of America, so she was a logical choice, who ended up doing a fine job on behalf of American consumers. <\/p>\n
This is how a functional administration works — find capable, competent people to fill government posts, and the public will be well served. Then Bush was elected. He tapped [tag]Hal Stratton[\/tag]<\/a> for the post.<\/p>\n A former state representative and attorney general in New Mexico, Hal [tag]Stratton[\/tag] never asked for his current job, protecting American citizens from such dangers as lead-laced toy jewelry and flammable Halloween costumes. Instead, the former geology major who went on to co-chair the local Lawyers for Bush during the 2000 campaign initially wanted a job in the Interior Department. “That didn’t work out,” he told the Albuquerque Journal, “but I told them, ‘Don’t count me out’ … and they came up with this.” […]<\/p>\n [Now Stratton has] a track record: rare public hearings and a paucity of new safety regulations, as well as regular (often industry-sponsored) travels to such destinations as China, Costa Rica, Belgium, Spain, and Mexico. But at least Stratton won’t let personal bias influence him: Despite saying that he wouldn’t let his own daughters play with water yo-yos — rubber toys that are outlawed in several countries because of concerns that children could be strangled by them — he refused to ban them in the United States. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n Fortunately, Stratton left his post<\/a> in June 2006, giving Bush second chance to find a qualified person to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission.<\/p>\n Surprise, surprise, the president has decided to pick another hack. Consumer groups prepare to assail rumored Bush candidate to head Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Association of Manufacturers lobbyist Michael Baroody. “It’s sort of astonishing that the administration would pick someone from a regulated industry,” says Rachel Weintraub of the Consumer Federation of America. The agency will lose its ability to make rules or levy fines on Jan. 14 unless chairman’s vacancy is filled.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n
\nThe Wall Street Journal reported<\/a> yesterday:<\/p>\n