We can toil, argue, posture all day and all night over this Judd Gregg mess, but the bottom line is why this guy was even ASKED to be Commerce Secretary when in the past he wanted the Commerce Department abolished.
One also must question why Gregg dumped this announcement right before Obama was speaking in Peoria, Illinois at Caterpillar about jobs. Talk about stepping all over a message. Oh, we can not forget the Gregg presser, while speaking nice of Obama, repeated that this is a White House that would not work with him. Again, talk about stepping all over the White House.
My thing is this, the Obama Administration needs to work with Republicans who are willing to work in good faith, and so far the good faith thingy has been a bust. The Obama White House can only offer that olive branch, so far. Now, is Obama making inroads in his attempt of bi-partisanship, absolutely, and hopefully it will pay down the road but right now it is a wash.
Many were stating during the Daschle fiasco, that we need Daschle and he will be nominated. In fact, I was very much for Daschle moving aside but acknowledged that he was needed for HHS, but in the end the perception always wins out. The image of Daschle driving around for three years with a free car and driver from a political associate did not look good for many reasons. It made Obama look like a hypocrite because it was these same images of Washington, D.C. fatcats that he campaigned against. Daschle in the end had to go. The Geithner mess, and here we go again about taxes, has weakened him somewhat in his duties as Treasury Secretary. I am sure that will wan out in time, but right now many have scrutiny about his appointment.
The thing is that the Obama White House, if they knew about Gregg, was slow off the mark, AGAIN, in getting ahead of this story. If anyone in the White House knew that Gregg was contemplating removing his name for Commerce and did not reveal that information to the White House Press should be fired.
Perception to the public is everything. Ask Wall Street. Those fatcats are having a very hard time justifying their rich spending habits, on the public's dime, and are squirming to where the money went, which much of it did in bonuses. The Obama White House needs to get ahead of the perception curve, and get out of the campaign mode; they are still figuring this out. The Judd Gregg announcement should never have stepped on President Obama's speech in Peoria, Illinois today, but it did.
Bi-partisanship only works when both sides are working for it. This is not the case here for President Obama. How many times will the Republicans continue to undermine him, while he is frantically trying to woo them in? Barack Obama work with those who want to work with you, everyone else, push them aside. That fraction of the Republican Party will not come around for you; this is something that must be realized so you can move on.
Lastly, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs statement:
"Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President’s agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart".
And yes, the GOP has declared war on Obama. Now I hope the White House will wake up.
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