Bonnie Newman, We Hardly Knew Ye
Well, that was weird. I guess the senatorial career and presidential aspirations of Bonnie Newman have been cut a bit short.
Gregg seems to have acquitted himself better at the press conference than in his statement which at first seemed to suggest that he was going to try and play Sir Thomas More in "A Man For All Seasons," dying on a pyre to protect the sanctity of the Census from the politically expedient ruler.
I still think the Census thing has a slightly bogus quality to it. Gregg surely had more than enough clout to ensure that the Census Director, whoever it was, was someone he could live with even if the appointment was not his alone to make. It's not like the President was going to force Terry McAuliffe or some Demohack on him.
The stimulus thing is a little odd, too, since the whole package moved in a more Collins-Snowey direction in the last week. He should have been more reconciled to the bill by week's end, not less. But, that said, if he changed his mind for his own reasons or in part because he had raised eyebrows back home, then it's probably better we know now.
I pitch Eric Schmidt for the job. It's primarily a science job. NOAA is most of the budget. And then there's the Census. What Google was meant for (albeit in a slightly creepy way).
Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
I don't know, I still think that the census thing was a major faux pas. You don't nominate someone that you don't trust. And this lack of trust was out there for all to see.
February 12, 2009 6:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
What?
February 12, 2009 6:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Gregg is not seeing re-election.
http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Judd+Gregg+withdraws+as+nominee+for+Commerce+Secretary%2c+says+he+won%27t+run+in+2010&articleId=9c31f9b4-6117-4312-8eb0-647e1240e70a
February 12, 2009 6:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just don't understand any of this. I find the reaction from OpenLeft and Andrew Sullivan to be really extreme: that this is an open declaration of war on Obama.
Seems to me that a better way to wage war with Obama would be to do so inside the Administration. Keep holding press conferences when the Administration does something you disagree with, and when the Administration asks you to quit, THEN you can talk about the lack of bipartisanship.
This just doesn't seem quite kosher. Like there's information missing from this picture.
February 12, 2009 6:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
i agree. this smells.
February 12, 2009 11:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
So Bob Schieffer on CBS Evening News tells us that the Gregg withdrawal makes the Obama vetting process look worse than it did before.
Huh? This is Obama's fault?
Give me a break!
February 12, 2009 6:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed.
Obama is reaching out to republicans. It's not his fault the selectees are having second thoughts or didn't think through what they were being asked to do until after they accepted the offer.
It also sends a message to the public the opposition has just as many skeltons in their closet as do Democrats - no one is perfect regardless of Party.
As for vetting, we saw with Bu$h and the repugs who controlled Congress, it depends on the ends more than the means. Just look at Roberts, Alito and Gonzales the repugs pushed thru.
February 12, 2009 7:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
bob schieffer spouting nonsensical CW? never...
a lot of folks in the press have been looking for any angle to start the obama =total failure meme that they can(heck some folks started speculating he'd be a one termer before he even took office); nearly every story gets reported from the "it's been 3 weeks why hasn't he fixed the world" or "yeah this might look like an accomplishment, but here's one small reason that some might say it isn't" point of view. it's hardly surprising that what looks like it has nothing to do with any vetting issue, gets reported as one.
February 12, 2009 10:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
"NOAA is most of the budget."
Is there any resonable explanation why NOAA is in Commerce and not in Interior or even Defense?
If Commerce does nothing but count people and predict the weather, why does it even exist as a cabinet level job?
February 12, 2009 7:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
A good start is with farmers. Do you think the US Army would give a rat's patooty about weather conditions for wheat farming in Nebraska? How about week-end boaters on lakes and rivers? Shipping and commercial traffic vessels on international waters ways along the east and west coast and gulf of mexico? The weather has a direct effect on commerce - moving goods. The military weather observers are only concerned with weather conditions when moving massive amounts of troops and material within hours and days to remote locations around the world.
February 12, 2009 7:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Doesn't Eric Schmidt have some serious personal life issues? Like his open marriage and public affair with a subordinate?
I know it's only the Commerce Department, but I would think that would disqualify him.
February 12, 2009 7:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
He's actually had a couple affairs with subordinates. In fact, he promoted his mistress to run the NY advertising department, then dumped her.
February 13, 2009 2:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Dean for Commerce
February 12, 2009 7:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I could live with Dean for Commerce, but what about Kathleen Sebelius?
As for HHS, a completely logical choice would be Oregon's former governor John Kitzhaber, a retired emergency room doc. He presided over (and helped write) the Oregon Health Plan, which was very successful until gutted by legislative Repugnicants during the '01 recession, and he did it with a balanced budget. AND he's no friend of the insurance industry.
February 12, 2009 7:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
All sorts of room to speculate.
Did Gregg get a deal from McConnell to stay in the Senate? That is, did he use the nomination as leverage to extract Senate advantages from leadership?
Is there in fact some vetting issue or personal problem, despite his denial? Why won't he run in 2010?
Did Gregg find out that he would have to conform to the Obama team, when he thought he could get away with murder at Commerce? And I don't mean by a sychophant, I mean not run government into the ground outright. Obama WANTS alternative voices in his Cabinet.
Was he a mole from the outset?
His explanations stink.
February 12, 2009 8:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have a sneaking suspicion this has something to do with Republican governor Charlie Crist coming out strongly in favor of the stimulus, and with the prominent attention ex-congressman, current secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood received for lobbying his fellow House Republicans--along with polls showing continued support for Obama's stimulus. If your only strategy is to paint your opponent as partisan, and he keeps scoring bi-partisan endorsements, something's got to be done--another victory for Obama the bipartisan would have been dangerous for the Repubs. McConnell undoubtedly leaned on Gregg to withdraw; I'd also be very curious to find out what Rush Limbaugh's been saying about Gregg & the Republicans this past week.
Either that, or there's more to his Abramoff ties that have yet been exposed.
But no, I don't think Obama looks bad here in any way, particularly the guarantee given to appoint a Republican as his replacement. I've been wrong before, but I think Gregg just comes up looking like a schmuck & the American people think "Huh. Obama's being bipartisan and the Republicans aren't."
February 12, 2009 9:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hmm. Interesting point about Crist, and I agree that President Obama is coming out of this looking good.
I think this is GREAT for President Obama, for two reasons:
1) That's the last join-my-team offer the repugs get. Repug senator begs for appointment, gets it, then throws it back in the President's face? No more treats for you boys!
2) Yet another object lesson for President Obama in why treating the repugs with the slightest smidgeon of respect is a sucker's game. They hate you and everything you stand for, and they are going to fuck you over every chance you get no matter what you do or say. Every repug move that illustrates this fact is another point on the board for liberals trying to pull Obama left.
February 13, 2009 8:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Aside from the Census, the Dept of Commerce does a lot of economic statistics and analysis, patents, business development, telecom standards, etc. Truly a bureaucrat's heaven. Won't ANYONE suggest a non-politician for this job? Maybe, ...a competent administrator ? Why does it always have to be a politician? Politicians generally can't even manage their own staff, let alone a big bureaucracy. They are the ones who got us into this mess. And geeez what's with the suggesting Sebelius for every single cabinet position? Is there any evidence at all that she has actual management skills?
From Commerce website:
* Bureau of Industry and Security
* Economics and Statistics Administration
o Bureau of the Census
o Bureau of Economic Analysis
* Economic Development Administration
* International Trade Administration
* Minority Business Development Agency
* National Institute of Standards and Technology
* National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
* National Technical Information Service
* National Telecommunications and Information Administration
* Patent and Trademark Office
February 13, 2009 2:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why the hell would Eric Schmidt even want the job?
February 13, 2009 2:56 AM | Reply | Permalink