Just for appearance's sake

caroline baum

The US manufacturing sector has been hit by hard times but few think George W Bush's appointment of a new job czar will do much to help

In a recent Labour Day pitch to union voters, president Bush announced the appointment of a new jobs czar. "The new appointee, an assistant commerce secretary, will focus on the needs of manufacturers to make sure our manufacturing job base is strong and vibrant," said Bush, who has seen 2.5 million factory jobs disappear on his watch. In the real world, targeting policies to specific constituencies is typically associated with the Democrats - tax cuts designed to put money back in the pockets of those who will spend it, not broad-based incentives intended to increase the entire pie. Bus...