Senator Clinton yesterday gave what was billed as a “major speech on manufacturing” at a Washington think tank called the Center for American Progress. “I am all for the wealthy,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Especially since my husband started making money after his public career, it’s fine to be wealthy.” She also said that she wasn’t sure she agreed with Senator Schumer that the era of comparative advantage had come to an end. She called for a 10% reduction in the corporate income tax rate on income from American production.

Mrs. Clinton then blamed President Bush for failing to respond to “an American jobs crisis.” Her proposed medicine? “We need a manufacturing research agency,” she said. Also, a “National Skills Corporation” to put all job-training programs under one roof. More government research-and-development spending. And another try at health-care reform.”This set of issues is politically volatile, as I can attest from my efforts 10 years ago. And perhaps, though, the time is slowly coming.”

Mrs. Clinton’s speech never acknowledged that America actually has less unemployment than countries with nationalized health care and big-spending centralized government programs. According to the standardized unemployment rates of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the American unemployment rate in December 2003 was a mere 5.7%, while Germany’s was 9.2%, France’s was 9.5%, and Canada’s was 7.4%. Japan has lower unemployment, but its GDP growth has lagged America’s.

For all of Mrs. Clinton’s world travels, she seems strangely uninformed about what’s going on in the world economy. Maybe she can ask Mr. Bush to bring her along on his next foreign trip.