President Obama this morning will name New Hampshire's Judd Gregg to be his Secretary of Commerce after a whirlwind courtship and promises that Gregg's ascension will not cost the Republican Party its ability to filibuster Democratic legislation.
When Gregg learned that Obama was interested, he had only one request: please don't make this a political choice for me. New Hampshire's governor, John Lynch, might well appoint a Republican to replace him for the year and a half remaining until re-election, but if the White House intervened, Lynch might feel pressure to appoint a fellow Democrat. Assurances were made all around, leading some Democrats to wonder: what the heck is the White House getting from all of this? Gregg and Obama were never close
As Commerce Secretary, Gregg will help oversee the digital television transition just 14 days away. His main goal, as set out in statuatory language, is "economic growth," both domestically and for the U.S. overseas. But Gregg will have a voice in the administration's roundtables on entitlement reform, on budget discpline, and on deficit reduction -- and the administration will probably ask Gregg to take a lead role in selling the administration's arguments to Congress and the American people.
if Gregg is going to be one of the public faces of debt reduction, is this just the White House trying to cover Democrats' collective ass when it comes to spending?