In Washington, D.C., there is something called the “Revolving Door.” This refers to the practice of folks that move from government job to private sector job (and back again). There is a negative connotation to this term, as it presupposes that when these people are in the private sector, they are trading on influence with the government to fill the coffers of their bosses.

It’s a bit more difficult to do this, of course, when the current administration in D.C. is of a different political party than the one whose administration you were in. No worries, though; if you can’t find a good private sector job, you can always kick back at a partisan think tank for a couple of years and wait for the political winds to shift back in your favor.

All of this came to mind today as I read an article in Xinhua about a trip to Beijing by former Bush administration Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. Sec. Chao was in town to attend something called the Global Think Tank Summit (I have no idea what this is, but I’m sure it was a meeting where tough, practical solutions to problems were discussed — heh heh).

Anyway, some of Sec. Chao’s comments were rather interesting, not with respect to the Revolving Door phenomenon, but rather her attempts to capitalize on her ethnicity in the face of, at least from what I can glean from her bio, very limited China experience.

Keep in mind that Chao is not exactly a mover and a shaker, despite the kind words from Xinhua:

Chao served as U.S. Secretary of Labor in the cabinet of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. Chao was the only cabinet member to serve under George W. Bush for his entire 8-year administration.

Xinhua writers can be excused for not knowing that a strong labor department is as useful to a Republican administration as tits on a bull. Translation: it did little of substance (and certainly not on behalf of American labor), which is the main reason why Chao was able to stay on for eight years.

Prior to being a proud member of the Bush administration, Chao has done time in the previous Bush administration, headed the United Way charity, and was at the rightwing think tank the Heritage Foundation. She is also the wife of Senate bigwig Mitch McConnell of Iowa (currently the minority leader), so she’s got that going for her as well, which is nice.

I’ve looked at her entire biography and, with the exception of having been born and lived in Taiwan for eight years, I’m not really sure if she can back up this language:

Chao said the relationship between China and the United States, the world’s largest developing country and largest developed country, must move forward, but there are difficulties “because Chinese and American philosophical thinking are so different and cultural gaps are quite large.”

“There’s no other choice but trying to build better relationship,” said Chao, stressing that her Chinese cultural background could help make up for the misunderstandings between the two countries.

“I can see things from American point of view and can also see things from Chinese point of view. That can help bridge both sides so we can understand each other,” Chao said.

Really? Regardless of whether there is in fact a gigantic cultural chasm between the two countries that routinely leads to disputes, I’m just not buying into Sec. Chao as an old China hand, unless her bio is incomplete. Here is a woman who has never lived in China, and hasn’t even lived in Taiwan since 1960. Compare her China experience with that of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who despite being a third-generation American, was hip-deep in China deals when he was doing working the China desk at Davis Wright Tremaine.

Good luck to Chao in drumming up business. Not sure if she is trying to position herself as a consultant or what (she has an MBA and does have experience in the not for profit sector), but she wouldn’t be my first choice if I had a trade dispute, a tricky investment issue, or needed some special Chinese government guanxi.

Which leads me back to my post title. Will Sec. Chao be able to attract a sufficient number of Republican business types with China deals on the basis of her US guanxi, her ethnicity, and presumably Chinese language skills?

I’m thinking yes, knowing that there’s a sucker born every minute.