Book Review on Mac Baldridge (someone I did not know)

choi

Clark S Judge, Washington Wrangler. During tense talks over steel imports, Baldrige insisted the tired Europeans work through lunch. He’d hidden snacks for his team nearby. Wall Street Journal, Jan 5, 2016.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-cowboy-at-commerce-1451952736
(book review on Chris Black and B Jay Cooper, Mac Baldridge. The cowboy in Ronald Reagan's cabinet. Lyons Press, 2015)

Quote:

(a) "Ronald Reagan was once asked if he considered any member of his cabinet a 'true visionary.' Two, Reagan replied: United Nations Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick and Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige.

"In Reagan-era Washington, Baldrige was best known as the cowboy secretary. A card-carrying member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, he retained his professional status by winning, as PRCA rules required, a nominal amount of prize money every year of his cabinet tenure. But as one-time White House reporter Chris Black and former Baldrige speechwriter B Jay Cooper make clear in this deservedly admiring biography, it was far more than rodeo skills that inspired the president’s esteem.

(b) "Resolving a long-building steel dispute with Europe was among the first tasks he tackled after taking office [as Commerce Secretary]. * * *

"When it came time for one-on-one talks with the various European countries [to make deals on steel], Baldrige made himself lead negotiator—and a crafty one he was.

"One Saturday morning, days from a key deadline, he assembled his team shortly before a negotiating session was scheduled to start. He told them that an office down the hall would have coffee, sandwiches and pastries—and that they were to keep this knowledge to themselves.

"At noon, the European side suggested a lunch break. Baldrige insisted that they continue talking “because we are so close.” An hour later, the Americans started stepping out one by one for visits to the secret lunchroom. At 4 p.m., the Europeans agreed to all the American terms. As one US negotiator later explained, 'They were starving.' Denying them lunch was part of Baldrige’s 'negotiating ploy.'

(c) "Baldrige’s trade diplomacy was not all confrontation. As anti-Japanese protectionist pressure was building in Congress, the secretary arranged for the department’s No 2 man, Joe Wright [full name: Joseph Robert Wright, Jr; Deputy Secretary (1981-1982)], to host a dinner for him, the Japanese ambassador and their wives at Mr Wright’s home. 'Mac insisted on doing the serving,' Mr Wright told the authors. 'He went right into the kitchen. And afterwards the Ambassador and the Secretary of Commerce were washing dishes together as they negotiated a trade deal.'

My comment:
(a) The co-author should not be confused with

Jim Wright (1922 – 2015; House representative (D-Texas); Speaker of the House 1987-1989)
(b) The anecdotes in quotation is all you need to know.  There is no need to read the rest of the review.

(c)
(i) wrangler (profession)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrangler_(profession)
(The word "wrangler" is derived from the Low German "wrangeln" meaning "to dispute" or "to wrestle")
(ii) wrangler
online etymology dictionary, undated
etymonline.com/index.php?term=wrangler