Winehole23
02-03-2009, 05:35 PM
WASHINGTON NEWS
Obama Picks Another Republican For Cabinet (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_090203.htm)
President Obama is expected to announce today his selection of GOP Sen. Judd Greg to be the country's next Commerce Secretary. The Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123358582545939377.html) reports "the deal was set after Sen. Gregg made clear that he would not take the post unless he was replaced in the Senate by another Republican." According to the AP (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090203/ap_on_go_pr_wh/gregg_commerce;_ylt=Ajujo.KqnpG.RrohS5gbEgBp24cA) New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch "confirmed the 'understanding,' stopping just short of promising to appoint a Republican." Gregg told The Politico (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18304.html) "he believed Lynch would nominate a Republican." DSCC chairman Sen. Robert Menendez said Gregg's replacement "would be a caretaker and that Democrats would have a good chance at picking up the seat next cycle." USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-02-02-gregg_N.htm) also notes Gregg's expected nomination.
Media accounts suggest Gregg's pick could boost GOP support for the President's stimulus plan. The Politico (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18325.html) reports that "for Gregg to cross over now and join the administration will make it harder for his fellow Republicans to demonize Obama." Gregg "has been critical himself of major elements in the president's stimulus bill." Bloomberg News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20090202/pl_bloomberg/agdeg3t1huu;_ylt=AnHjlESuchn2t0MhYPxb8gGog9IF) says the selection "would add...more credibility to his efforts to promote bipartisanship."
The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/us/politics/03gregg.html?hp) reports, "In Mr. Obama's brief time on Capitol Hill, they barely knew each other, aside from occasional chats in the Senate gym." The Times also notes that during the presidential campaign, Gregg "spoke sharply against Mr. Obama's candidacy." According to the Times, "The idea of offering the job to Mr. Gregg came, at least in part, from" Senate majority leader Harry Reid.
Gregg's Selection Praised CNBC's John Harwood said, "I think this is a brilliant move by the White House. ... Judd Gregg is a real fiscal conservative." CNBC's Larry Kudlow added, "I agree with everything you just said." The Washington Post's E. J. Dionne, on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show argued that President Obama "is trying to build a new majority. ... I think putting Republicans in your government, as FDR did, is a way of making people comfortable saying 'whatever you were in the past this is about what we're going to do now.'"
Maddow: Gregg Is "A Big Poke In The Eye" MSNBC's Rachel Maddow blasted the selection, asking "Why on earth would president Obama want Judd Gregg as commerce secretary? ... He earned a lifetime rating of 4% from the AFL-CEO. He voted with his party 83% of the time in the last congress. ... The American Conservative Union gives him a life time rating of 78.4. ... It is a big poke in the eye to the Democratic base and the labor movement."
Obama Picks Another Republican For Cabinet (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_090203.htm)
President Obama is expected to announce today his selection of GOP Sen. Judd Greg to be the country's next Commerce Secretary. The Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123358582545939377.html) reports "the deal was set after Sen. Gregg made clear that he would not take the post unless he was replaced in the Senate by another Republican." According to the AP (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090203/ap_on_go_pr_wh/gregg_commerce;_ylt=Ajujo.KqnpG.RrohS5gbEgBp24cA) New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch "confirmed the 'understanding,' stopping just short of promising to appoint a Republican." Gregg told The Politico (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18304.html) "he believed Lynch would nominate a Republican." DSCC chairman Sen. Robert Menendez said Gregg's replacement "would be a caretaker and that Democrats would have a good chance at picking up the seat next cycle." USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-02-02-gregg_N.htm) also notes Gregg's expected nomination.
Media accounts suggest Gregg's pick could boost GOP support for the President's stimulus plan. The Politico (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18325.html) reports that "for Gregg to cross over now and join the administration will make it harder for his fellow Republicans to demonize Obama." Gregg "has been critical himself of major elements in the president's stimulus bill." Bloomberg News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20090202/pl_bloomberg/agdeg3t1huu;_ylt=AnHjlESuchn2t0MhYPxb8gGog9IF) says the selection "would add...more credibility to his efforts to promote bipartisanship."
The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/us/politics/03gregg.html?hp) reports, "In Mr. Obama's brief time on Capitol Hill, they barely knew each other, aside from occasional chats in the Senate gym." The Times also notes that during the presidential campaign, Gregg "spoke sharply against Mr. Obama's candidacy." According to the Times, "The idea of offering the job to Mr. Gregg came, at least in part, from" Senate majority leader Harry Reid.
Gregg's Selection Praised CNBC's John Harwood said, "I think this is a brilliant move by the White House. ... Judd Gregg is a real fiscal conservative." CNBC's Larry Kudlow added, "I agree with everything you just said." The Washington Post's E. J. Dionne, on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show argued that President Obama "is trying to build a new majority. ... I think putting Republicans in your government, as FDR did, is a way of making people comfortable saying 'whatever you were in the past this is about what we're going to do now.'"
Maddow: Gregg Is "A Big Poke In The Eye" MSNBC's Rachel Maddow blasted the selection, asking "Why on earth would president Obama want Judd Gregg as commerce secretary? ... He earned a lifetime rating of 4% from the AFL-CEO. He voted with his party 83% of the time in the last congress. ... The American Conservative Union gives him a life time rating of 78.4. ... It is a big poke in the eye to the Democratic base and the labor movement."