“My biggest job is to protect the American people.” ~George W. Bush

The President is fond of summarizing his job description. On numerous occasions during his reign of error, he has felt the need to announce the perceived raison d’être of his employment. When he does so, he bears a striking resemblance to Raymond Babbitt, the autistic character from the movie Rain Man. (“I’m an excellent driver.” “Gotta get my boxer shorts at K-Mart.” “Ten minutes to Wapner.”) The reality, of course, is that the President’s job is, first and foremost, to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” However, since Mr. Bush would generally rather not adhere to his oath of office, he prefers to emphasize his role as protector-in-chief. Unfortunately, he is about as adept at protecting as Raymond Babbitt was at driving—as the following New York Times article illustrates:

OSHA Leaves Worker Safety in Hands of Industry

Seven years ago, a Missouri doctor discovered a troubling pattern at a microwave popcorn plant in the town of Jasper. After an additive was modified to produce a more buttery taste, nine workers came down with a rare, life-threatening disease that was ravaging their lungs.

Puzzled Missouri health authorities turned to two federal agencies in Washington. Scientists at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which investigates the causes of workplace health problems, moved quickly to examine patients, inspect factories and run tests. Within months, they concluded that the workers became ill after exposure to diacetyl, a food-flavoring agent.

But the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, charged with overseeing workplace safety, reacted with far less urgency. It did not step up plant inspections or mandate safety standards for businesses, even as more workers became ill.

On Tuesday, the top official at the agency told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing that it would prepare a safety bulletin and plan to inspect a few dozen of the thousands of food plants that use the additive.

That response reflects OSHA’s practices under the Bush administration, which vowed to limit new rules and roll back what it considered cumbersome regulations that imposed unnecessary costs on businesses and consumers. Across Washington, political appointees — often former officials of the industries they now oversee — have eased regulations or weakened enforcement of rules on issues like driving hours for truckers, logging in forests and corporate mergers.

Since George W. Bush became president, OSHA has issued the fewest significant standards in its history, public health experts say. It has imposed only one major safety rule. The only significant health standard it issued was ordered by a federal court.

The agency has killed dozens of existing and proposed regulations and delayed adopting others. For example, OSHA has repeatedly identified silica dust, which can cause lung cancer, and construction site noise as health hazards that warrant new safeguards for nearly three million workers, but it has yet to require them.

“The people at OSHA have no interest in running a regulatory agency,� said Dr. David Michaels, an occupational health expert at George Washington University who has written extensively about workplace safety. “If they ever knew how to issue regulations, they’ve forgotten. The concern about protecting workers has gone out the window.� [full text]