More on Gregg

By Michael J.W. Stickings

(Following up on Creature's post from earlier this evening...)

Sen. Judd Gregg's explanation for backing away from the Commerce job for which Obama had nominated him was suitably self-absorbed: "I couldn't be Judd Gregg."

But how did he now know that when he accepted the nomination? What has changed? Sure, there's the stimulus bill, but it's not like that wasn't on his radar. He knew, more or less, what was coming, what the package would contain, and perhaps even what the partisan divide would be.

And -- let's be clear about this -- he reached out to Obama. He wanted the job.

And so I think Andrew Sullivan's explanation is probably about right:

When Judd Gregg approached the Obama administration to see if he could be a part of it, he was assuming that his own party wasn't going to adopt a policy of total warfare against the newly elected president in a time of enormous economic peril. Between that moment and the current all-out ideological assault on Obama, his position became untenable. His recusal on the stimulus package provoked fury at home (check out the comments here) and dyspepsia among the GOP who are intent on responding to an open hand with a clenched fist.

Gregg may have reached out in good faith, acting the good bipartisan in a time of crisis, hoping to bridge the gap between Obama and the GOP, but he belongs to a party that is acting in bad faith, that is trying to score political points off the economic crisis, that is united in ideological fervour, and that is as partisan as ever.

In the end, with Republicans enforcing orthodoxy, that was likely just too much for Gregg, who now skulks back home with his tail between his legs, no doubt hoping to avoid ostracism by stressing his Republican bona fides -- there were just too many "irresolvable conflicts," he now claims -- taking shots at the man he hoped would be his boss, and, perhaps most pathetically of all, suggesting that it was all just a big "mistake."

Gregg to Commerce

By Michael J.W. Stickings

As you may have heard already, Obama has tapped Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire to be commerce secretary. (If you remember, Obama's first choice, Bill Richardson, withdrew his nomination amid swirls of scandal.) It's a fine choice for a relatively impotent Cabinet post, and it helps that Gregg has spoken favourably of Obama's economic stimulus plan. As part of the deal, New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, will replace Gregg with another Republican. (Gregg had said he wouldn't take the job if it meant a Democrat taking his place in the Senate.) That Republican is reported to be Bonnie Newman, Gregg's former chief of staff. The good news is that Newman may not run in 2010, when Gregg's current term is up, meaning that, in a state that is turning ever more blue, the Democrats have a good shot at picking up the seat.

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On an ironic note, Gregg twice voted to abolish the Commerce Department -- both times in 1995, first on the Budget Committee, then on the Senate floor.