The New York Times reports that President Bush nominated Carlos M. Gutierrez to be Secretary of Commerce:
President Bush on Monday nominated Carlos M. Gutierrez, among the most prominent Hispanic business executives in the United States, to be his commerce secretary, as the president continued with what Republicans said would be a broad overhaul of his cabinet.
Mr. Gutierrez, 51, has been chief executive of the Kellogg Company, the cereal maker, for more than five years, and has built a reputation as an innovative and forceful business leader with broad international experience. But he has little background in public policy, leaving him largely unknown in political circles and untested by the demands of a high-profile job in Washington.
"He understands the world of business, from the first rung on the ladder to the very top," Mr. Bush said, with Mr. Gutierrez at his side in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. "He knows exactly what it takes to help American businesses grow and to create jobs."
UPDATE: Announcing the Gutierrez nomination, President Bush's said:
Carlos's family came to America from Cuba when he was a boy. He learned English from a bellhop in a Miami hotel, and later became an American citizen. When his family eventually settled in Mexico City, Carlos took his first job for Kellogg as a truck driver, delivering Frosted Flakes to local stores. Ten years after he started, he was running the Mexican business. And 15 years after that, he was running the entire company. At every stage of this remarkable story, Carlos motivated others with his energy and optimism and impressed others with his decency.
Thanking President Bush, Gutierrez spoke about living the American Dream:
I have had the opportunity to live that American Dream, so I know that the President's vision is noble, I know it's real and I know it's tangible. I left Cuba to come to this great country in 1960 as a political refugee. I left with my parents and my brother and we started, essentially, from scratch at that time. Almost 30 years later, I joined the Kellogg Company and started selling cereal out of a van in Mexico City.I recall saying to someone the other day that one of my big accomplishments in life was to obtain citizenship for my son and my wife, because of where people were born -- born in different places; they were not naturalized citizens upon birth, especially my son. So 14 years ago, they became U.S. citizens. I was walking out of the courthouse and I told my son, you know, if I get hit by a truck today, I'll feel a lot better because you are a citizen of the U.S.
USA Today reports that the business world applauds nomination of Gutierrez and notes the financial sacrifice Gutierrez is making entering public service:
His compensation will fall from $7.4 million last year as CEO of Kellogg to $166,700 as Commerce secretary.
The Washington Post reported that Gutierrez was recruited for the cabinet post:
Many people had indicated an interest in being commerce secretary, but White House officials said they sought out Gutierrez instead of the other way around. The officials said Bush had met Gutierrez on a few occasions over the past few years and had always been impressed with him. They met two weeks ago at the White House and Bush made the decision early last week at his Texas ranch, the officials said. Gutierrez informed his board on Friday, but word did not leak.
Bush aides said that in addition to Gutierrez's inspiring immigrant's story, they see his background in sales as a crucial credential, since Bush has used his economic team primarily to promote the White House agenda rather than to make policy. Officials familiar with the search process said that, Gutierrez notwithstanding, the White House has found it harder to attract a top-flight team because some candidates are unwilling to give up lucrative posts to come to Washington to be White House cheerleaders.
The Baltimore Sun sees the nomination of Gutierrez as part of an effort to transform his success among Hispanic voters in this year's elections into a long-term gain for Republicans:
"It's a great sign when you're doing Commerce, when you're doing the attorney general, you're sending a signal that Hispanics are going to be key players in this administration at a level that has never been seen before," said Robert G. de Posada, president of the business-oriented Latino Coalition, which endorsed Bush. "He's setting the groundwork for the Republican Party and other Republican candidates to continue this progress."
[. . .]
"This is an administration and a party that has taken us out of being sort of a core constituency of the Democratic Party and, through the negligence of the Democratic Party, into a swing vote," said Joe Garcia, a senior adviser to the New Democratic Network, an advocacy group that works on Hispanic outreach. "Hispanics should revel in this moment; I think Democrats should be shaking in their boots."
The initial reaction in the blogosphere was also positive.
At Power Line, Deacon posted with the title "Only in America (It's GRRREAT)."
Patrick Ruffini calls Gutierrez an American success story.
At Slowplay, Gabe Hughes posts individuals with determination and resolve to do great things who fought through adversity and ended up on top is what makes America great. Amen to that.
Baldilocks calls the nomination quite impressive and notes it was rather humorous to hear Democrat pundit Bob Bechel dismiss Mr. Gutierrez as a “cereal salesman” on FoxNews this morning.
President Bush's nomination of Gutierrez is another outstanding appointment. If a Democratic president were making such diverse and qualified appointments the main stream media wouldn't be able to heap enough praise on it.
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