Another Nominee Bites the Dust

Apparently nobody wants to be President Obama’s commerce secretary. The second candidate for the post, Sen. Judd Gregg, has dropped out. The Republican senator cited “irresolvable conflicts,” including the stimulus package and the census. That’s what you get for trying to make nice with those fussy Republicans.

Not to get all partisan, but there’s a reason America put the Democrats in charge of both chambers of Congress and the White House. Maybe it’s time to stop all the bipartisan window dressing and kick some ass. These columnists would certainly agree.

Then again, maybe it’s time to pick a commerce nominee who (a) isn’t under investigation and (b) actually wants the job.

Sen. Gregg’s Statement via AP:

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.

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