FORTUNATELY, NYC HAS CORPORATE OFFICES, NOT PLANT FLOORS::

Bush pushes free trade at tractor plant: Campaigning to renew his fast-track powers, the president also gets a chance to drive a giant earthmover (James Gerstenzang and Molly Hennessy-Fiske, January 31, 2007, LA Times)

Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, signaled a readiness Tuesday to work with Bush on the issue, saying he was trying to get the two political parties out of "divorce court."

"If we don't give trade promotion authority [to the White House], we've got to have a good reason for not giving it," he said during a committee meeting. [...]

Bush's audience, 300 plant workers and company managers, was generally subdued. But it came alive, just as he did, when he described his encounter with a D10 track-type tractor, a behemoth of a machine.

He climbed aboard, telling reporters, "I would suggest moving back. I'm about to crank this sucker up."

With that, the machine came to life, moving forward on its yellow metal treads, until the president brought it to a halt about 20 feet down the line and started it on a backward turn. When Bush climbed down from the cab, the inner boy was shining through, and a broad, sheepish grin crossed his face.

"Oh, yeah," he said.

"If you've never driven a D10," he told the workers and managers a few minutes later, "it's a cool experience."

Mr. Rangel is about as pro-trade as his party gets these days.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 31, 2007 10:48 AM