What do you do when you’re a powerless cabinet secretary in a highly centralized administration? Go to book fairs!

Here’s something you don’t see every day: a prominent cabinet member standing in line for an hour outside to collect an author’s autograph. But that’s exactly what Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez did this month during the National Book Festival on the Mall. His target was historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, who, when she looked up after penning her John Hancock, asked for Gutierrez’s in return. The secretary tells us: “Attending the National Book Festival was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon in Washington. It was great to be among book lovers, families, and great authors, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s festival.”

That’s great, but what about, uh, trying to promote the nation’s commerce? Just asking…