Tenenbaum's new challenges

Inez Tenenbaum faced her share of challenges as South Carolina superintendent of education with intelligence, energy and aplomb. She will need those qualities as the head of the nation's Consumer Affairs Office.

The agency was pared back dramatically under the previous administration. Its policy-making commission languished without a chairman for the past three years. And manufacturers have had a lot more political muscle than have consumers.

Mrs. Tenenbaum, who co-chaired the Obama campaign steering committee in South Carolina, may have limited experience specific to consumer issues. But her work as education superintendent and founder of the S.C. Center for Family Policy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reforming the state's juvenile justice system, has provided her with broad experience in public policy.

Among her supporters for the presidential appointment, which requires U.S. Senate confirmation, is her former political foe, Sen. Jim DeMint.

The two faced off in the contentious race for the Senate in 2004. Sen. DeMint praises her ability and says he'll do what he can to see that her nomination is approved unanimously. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham also has expressed support.

Almost daily the need for strong consumer product safety becomes more than apparent as one foreign product after another — notably from China — is discovered to be unsafe. Often those products are used by children and babies, though the latest scare is contaminated dry-wall.

Mr. Obama's proposed budget contains a 71 percent increase in funding for consumer affairs, giving reason for optimism.

Even after her expected confirmation, Mrs. Tenenbaum will need all the help she can get to reinvigorate the agency.