In 1992, he was considered a candidate for commerce secretary.

But afterward, the commerce secretary said, "We're going to continue to let the process work."

Only the commerce secretary appeared with the Republican candidate on behalf of the administration yesterday.

"When is the last time a commerce secretary got out there and was the presenter of the census?"

But most recent commerce secretaries have not had a decisive role in overall trade strategy or economic foreign policy.

"We have looked favorably upon that," the Commerce Secretary added.

That's a lot what I've been doing as Commerce Secretary.

While the post has recently been occupied by political fund-raisers, not all commerce secretaries have come out of this tradition.

He sold the stake at the end of 1993, after he had been Commerce Secretary for nearly a year.

He's done just about everything right as Commerce Secretary.