It would appear that the rock Obama is going to continue looking for another commerce Secretary. The senator Judd Gregg has withdrawn his name for consideration. From a news release on his site [1], we find the following:
Sen. Gregg stated, “I want to thank the President for nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle.
“However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.
“Obviously the President requires a team that is fully supportive of all his initiatives.
“I greatly admire President Obama and know our country will benefit from his leadership, but at this time I must withdraw my name from consideration for this position.
Frankly, I began to wonder what the taping point would be for this guy. Apparently, being the token republican on the cabinet so that he could call his leap to the left of the “bipartisan” wasn’t exactly the description job that Judd Gregg got from Obama . However that situation may be Gregg stands as the first Cabinet appointment to withdraw his name without having cheated on his taxes or some other such thing.
The personally, I wondered if senator Gregg isn’t going to have to watch his back for the remainder of his political career.
Addendum: (David L)
We have a pattern. Barack Obama invites Mrs. Clinton to be Secretary of State, and then procedes to remove all her portfilos, Kristen Chapman, World Magazine [2]:
Unlike Rice and Powers, Clinton doesn’t have the inside track with Obama. She’s largely an outsider, among former competitors, no less, whose positions are rapidly reducing her potential sphere of influence. So what exactly is left for Clinton to do in her new role? That’s exactly what Morris is wondering
Given BO’s fervid desire to run the entire Executive branch from the White House, and his record of cutting the feet out from under his own nominees, how much future ability does BO has to attract cabinet level talent? Anybody smart enough to run a cabinet department has to notice BO’s bait and switch tactics. Will future Commerce Secretary nominees demand that BO leaves his hands off the Census? What would it say about an nominee that would cede such power?
Barack Obama is an man with an immense, over sized ego. Can BO curb his ego for the sake of his administration?