Frustrated in his attempts to find someone willing to be Commerce Secretary since his first nominee New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew, followed by Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire abruptly withdrawing as well, President-Actually Barack Obama today turned to Craigslist, the popular online classifieds site. "The position of Commerce Secretary is too important to remain unfilled another day," Mr. Obama said. "That's why it is absolutely essential that this Craigslist thing work."
The president's online gambit seemed to pay off early in the day, when Josh Hurtstein, an indie rock musician from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, tentatively accepted the post.
But hours later, Mr. Hurtstein did an about-face, withdrawing his name from consideration with the following terse statement: "At first I was like, that would be awesome, but I didn't realize I would have to move."
For his part, Mr. Obama said he would continue his search on Craigslist, adding, "While I have not yet found a Commerce Secretary there I did just find a great pair of skis."
President Jokes About Commerce Secretary at Lincoln Tribute:
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62 comments:
Was it Lupe the nanny that did Gregg in? Tax problems? WTF.
Another repub probably just trying to make Pres Obama look bad.
I think Obama may have set him up to get the positive spin of a repug during the stimulus negotiations with no intent to follow through or with knowledge of a skeleton in Gregg's closet. Obama is smart and thinking several moves ahead of the repugs.
Good! When is he up for reelection? He should be voted out of the Senate too.
In two years, but he is in trouble in NH and may not even run again. The "deal" in which the Democratic governor would agree to appoint a Republican to replace him or he would not take the job, may not be as bad (nor criminal) as Blagojevich's, but it was sleazy all the same.
Having watched C-SPAN a lot, I was dumbfounded by Gregg's appointment in the first place.
He's one of the most rabid fiscal conservatives in the Congress, and putting him in a Cabinet post was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. That was NEVER going to work.
Maybe he thought he could be a mole and undermine whatever Obama set out to do and then decided any such attempt would be futile. There's more here than a simple and sudden recognition of his own predilections.
So much for Dems "reaching across the aisle". It only works if the other side grabs your hand. The republicans are so bent on keeping partisanship alive. I suppose it's the only power they have left and are grasping wildly at whatever they can. They keep embarrassing themselves over and over.
It is the ultimate in hypocrisy of what the Republican Party is doing. They can give tax deductions to the top 1% of our population, but to give the middle class a tax break it is a NO NO for them. When they can't steal the money they won't cooperate with this administration. This is not the party of Lincoln or Eisenhower or Teddy Roosevelt. If they can not control this country, they will try to disrupt any effort to help this economy grow and get us out of this mess that started with the Reagan administration. They are out to destroy the middle class at any cost to our nation. Remember we are at war in Iraq because George Bush wanted to avenge the supposed attach on his father. Remember the Bush family has been in business with the Bin Laden family for many years.
funny how the Republicans passed so easily the Patriot Act, all the tax cuts for the super rich and corporations, the no bid gazillions in contracts for the wars?
And now they whine and fight to defeat the domestic stimulus? Thank god we had the numbers to pass it!!
Mr Gregg apparently wanted some free media attention. It seems he volunteered himself and then makes a big show of backing out. I wonder what personal gain he seeks? We will see.
The repubs are all distancing themselves from the obama administration, stimulus bill, etc., hoping the way their most vocal leader Rush Limbaugh does that Obama fails, so they look good.
Won't work, and is already backfiring. If the Obama adimin fails, America fails, and the politician repubs don't care (they're wealthy, why should they?)
It is hard to blame Gregg for not wanting to be attached at the hip to the giant stinking pile of garbage left behind by the last president and administration.
It is immensely saddening that despite having an opportunity to implement new ideas and solutions for the American people, that he chose instead to follow the same tired, worn, and failed path of every other republican that puts ideology first, and our country last.
This is a serious blow to our economy, and is a vote of no confidence in our markets that has damaged our country as a result of his flippant insincerity.
Gregg is part of the problem and unable to be part of the solution. Glad he withdrew. Who needs him.
I wish richardson had hung in there, he had a better than good chance of being confirmed, and would have made a great commerce secretary. Wish these guys would pay their damn taxes. We have to!
i hope Gregg's constituants remember what a jerk they put in office and throw him out next election
Very little is being said about the underlying story here.
Yes, Judd ASKED to be in the cabinet--probably because he wanted the tight reign on the census.
But what is getting little attention is that this a GOOD THING for any eco-minded person.
Check out "Gregg does Obama, humanity, next 50 generations huge favor and withdraws"
http://climateprogress.org/2009/02/13judd-gregg-commerce-withdrawal-global-warming/
We should be happy the guy is gone--and so what if Obabma's vetting process is tainted. I'll take that when you consider that the guy was a Bushie and really would have had no positive contributions to this administration except to be a detractor and a nay-sayer.
Could it be Gregg was a Republican plant sent into manipulate the census? How else could the Thugs win in the next election unless they cheated with redistrict manipulation? Obama preempted and threw a monkey wrench in their plan. I'm glad we elected the smart guy.
Attempted gerrymandering by the desperate GoP...
I believe Senator Judd had a plan from the very beginning with his Repubs goons. First accept, then o dropout to make Pres. Obama look bad.
I can't say I would fully agree. I think that there might have been an attempt to engineer the outcome of any attempt for change by the Obama administration. But seeing that any leverage was quickly becoming slimmer and slimmer, Judd, with his loyalty being more than anything for his party, simply changed outward political face again and opted out or participating in the inevitable change that's a comin'.
Agreed 100%!
"Republicans, meanwhile, were celebrating the ability of one of their own to embarrass the president."
That sentence was cut from a Time Magazine article at
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1879344,00.html
With this country's financial disaster, two wars, and numerous other problems, the Repubs are gleefully concentrating on embarrassing the president. What a bunch of losers!!
Mr. Gregg wanted this position. I think he was a cowar...d to withdraw the way he did. The President has extended his hand and the Republicans have done nothing but spit on his face. Republicans are not about what's best for the country all they care about what's best for the party. I say to the President enough trying to be bi-partisan. Let's push the liberal and socialist agenda that Republicans accuse you of trying to do... Our country will probably be in better shape. Look at where the Republicans have gotten us to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with alaskan99577. Mr. Gregg demonstrated a total lack of ethics and professionalism.
I can't believe how much lower the Republicans are going to get their way. Is this the way they perceive being bi-partisan?
Pres. Obama has shown a desire to unite the U.S. by including Republicans in his Cabinet.
Perhaps Republicans are not interested in the good of the U.S. of America! Their way or no way !
And now they forced their way again by changing Pres. Obama's stimulus proposal in order to include more tax cuts for the wealthy and less and less for the middle and low income classes, and even when concessions were made to the repubs, they STILL unanimously voted no. They are fucking miserable people.
Gregg said he wanted the job, met with President Obama and agreed he would be on board with any agenda, then when it came time for the stimulus he weaseled out, the GOPers surrounded him, beat him over the head with a plastic bat and he caved.
The Republicans and their new leader RUSH have already decided they will do everything in their power to attempt to make President Obama fail, but remember they all wear their little flag pins because they are all so PATRIOTIC!
After watching the President's Lincoln Day speech in Springfield, IL, I realize he really believes in unity.
It is part of his DNA.
With Judd Gregg dropping out and the GOP leaders' reaction, it just makes the Republicans seem smaller and meaner and the President seem bigger.
They are more like Republicnots that Republicans.
They really are the party of NO!
I think that what we are seeing here is the result of the meltdown of our two party system. The idea of a "Loyal Opposition" is gone. It's all about partisan politics and spin. Mr. O is still idealistic enough to believe that there are politicians out there like him who believe in service for the greater good.
You are right. Agree. We are sure this economic stimulus will work, people will get these republicans dogs out of the manger in 2010.
Republcants. RepubliCANTS.... I like that meme. Hm. Lets spread it!
The approval rating of the GOP in Congress has dropped considerably since this whole stimulus thing began- lower than the overall approval rating of Congress as a whole... so I think Obama's thought process in all of this- is that he invited the GOP kids to the playground- but he is also providing the stage to embarass themselves... because now when Obama starts playing hard ball- no one can say he didnt try.... I think Obama is way smarter than the media is giving him credit for and all will be seen soon enough...
The republicans are not going to do anything to help the American people, all they care about is keeping the country stagnant. They don't want to work with this President because he is not one of them. They stress that all through the campaign. They want to keep our country divided always. We the people have to change this. Vote the republicans out of office.
President Obama is shrewd to go to Red areas of he country for his Town Hall Meetings. He shows these people his genuine concern for their plight and underscores the difference between his "Country First" attitude and the Republicans "Party First" attitudes.
The childish antics of the GOP Senators and Representatives are being challenged directly by Republican Governors desperate for the assistance being offered by the President's plan.
America, we're just going to have to ride it out for another 2 years until we can vote to increase the number of democrats in the Senate
You know it that movie the American President - in it is said: "How can you claim to love America, but clearly can't stand Americans!"
To me that is the definition of the way the GOP treats the American people... they falsely pretend to be Proud Americans...but nothing that they do to the people of this country deserves any level of Pride!
GOP'ers can stomp their feet all they want- their approval ratings continue to drop because the veil of secrecy has been lifted- and Obama is showing them all for what they truly are - deceitful, underhanded LIARS!
I speculate that something from Gregg's past was going to come out in the vetting process. He couldn't take the heat. Maybe he also realized that the Commerce Secretary doesn't do that much and he wouldn't have as much power as he does now. It's all about the power. He wants to be a "powerful" Republican, and he realized this wasn't the way to go.
Gregg does not have very much power now since he is the Junior Senator from NH in a Minority party.
I wonder how long before his involvement with Abramoff comes to the msm?
Actually it did, Rachel Maddow reported that a Gregg aid is being investigated for trading favors with Abramoff, in fact the person may have been his chief of staff.
Stop hiring republicans. They run everything into the ground so they can't be in management and they make terrible workers. They want bonuses for doing the worst job possible and they are not team players.
Gregg's problem is that he is too locked into his own right-wing ideology to see any benefits to what Obama is trying to do by reaching out.
There is ALWAYS room for a dissenting opinion in America, it only takes a bit of open-mindedness, and a bigger person to be able to step outside your own views and admit that.
One by one the repubs are becoming a group that is only able to address a smaller and smaller group of people because they have to be right for the sake of it and not because it's the best solution.
The Republicans think they are being "cute", thinking they will be able to turn the public against President Obama by their juvenile antics, but are actually making themselves look ridiculous. Most people can see through these little games and have finally caught on to the fact that they care nothing about the country, only themselves and their rich cronies. This is only going to hurt them even more in the 2010 elections.
Did you guys watch the video doc posted? Obama's got a great sense of humor.
yeah - the way his candidates for commerce secretary keep dropping out, Obama might as well advertise on Craigslist. Lol
We must not forget that Pres Obama campaigned on a platform of not politics as usual and trying to end the gridlock. He has made every effort and been rebuffed by the Republican party. It has nothing to do with being naive and all to do with the Republican party's attitude.
The voters view of the Republican's will not improve if they continue in this way.
Republicans like being kicked in the teeth, Bush-Cheney never reached out to them, Bush-Cheney told them what to do and how to vote and they did it.
This is why they are on their asses and they know it. It's not much of a comeback strategy to make a stand in the wrong war, against what the majority wants and voted for, but Republicans are good at fighting the wrong battles and as long as they continue, they will lose elections
President Obama is giving the republicans a chance to work with him. He is not naive about who they are and what they stand for, he is simply giving them an opportunity to really put country first, or ex-pose themselves as the self serving nabobs they really are. They are choosing the latter.
I agree, Obama's no fool.
Look back to how perfectly he planned his campaign.
This is all going according to his plan.
And I must confess, that after Obama won, I thought that the hard stuff was over....but I'm realizing now, that, in fact, it's just begun.
We progressives have our work cut out for us, we can't let up. Not ever.
Repubs only want bipartisanship that goes their way.
Exactly.
It's obvious the Republicans are intent on sabotaging the Obama administration, so nobody can say the Democrats saved the country from ruin. They better hope the American people are still dumbed down enough to let them get away with it. The last election showed they were starting to wise up.
You're right. The parallels between what thappened to bring on and fix the great depression and this recession are disturbing. The repubs have played their part, just as they did so long ago. Now the Dems are having to come in and right the ship, once again. The repubs can't stand the fact that once again, they have stepped in it big time. So, just as they did back then, they are trying to sabatoge the President, not realizing they are only making themselves look that much worse.
the obama program was painted in very broad clear strokes before gregg offered himself for the position - a position which involves carrying out the policy of the administration in office - did gregg just wake up one morning and realize that the sec of commerce didn't get to make it up alone? that suggests a level of ignorance about how gov't works that no sitting senator ought to boast -
Have you ever actively sought a job, knowing full well that you had fundamental disagreements with the management, and, after being accepted, wait a full week before publicly withdrawing 10 minutes before the boss was about to give a major speech?
See, to me, that sounds pretty freakin squirrely.
Gregg is worried about his involvement with Abramoff. As should all Republicans should be, drip, drip, drip. I though he looked nervous and shakey at the press conference. His decision not to run for re-election speaks volumes to me. Oh what a tangled web they weave.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/2/13/32013/1373/707/696949
Seems to me that the likely scenario that led to Gregg's withdrawal is that the GOP leadership went to him and said that his participation in the Obama administration would serve to undercut their political strategy for the 2010 elections.
That GOP strategy is to oppose just about everything Obama does and hope the economy will still be bad in 2010. Then Republicans can campaign on the notion that the recession is Obama and the Dems fault.
The next two years are going to be an exact repeat of what the Republicans did during the first two years of Clinton's presidency. Bitch, moan, whine and complain, that's all Republicans know how to do. Back stabbers, every single one of them. All Democrats should read "They Must Be Stopped" in order to arm themselves against this American Taliban insurgency.
Obama's going to sign the stimulus bill on Tuesday in Denver.
Can't wait. Maybe now things will start getting fixed!
President Obama is 0 for 2 trying to find a commerce secretary. Bill Richardson quit. Judd Gregg quit. So as a service to the President, I am throwing myself into the fray and officially declaring my willingness to be nominated as the next Secretary Of Commerce.
I will be "the People's Commerce Secretary," since I have no formal education or relevant experience and since the last grade I actually completed was eighth. I don't own a suit, have a distinct absence of a haircut and my comical lack of teeth give me the seldom seen in public service look of a hillbilly hockey goalie. Also, I'm not clear on what the Commerce Secretary does.
I do know it has something to do with money. Yes, I have had tax liens. Yes, I currently have four outstanding payday loans. Yes, I am behind in both my car payments and rent. Yes, I am totally unqualified for the position of Commerce Secretary. But - unlike the two previous nominees. - I am no quitter.
If nominated, if I will sit there while members of both political parties lambaste me over all the stuff even a quick Google search of my name would turn up - my repeated and pointless use of profanity, the hundreds of erotic and fetish photos I've taken, and my "comedy" videos suggesting that Hillary Clinton would have punched a baby in the face to win the Presidential nomination. I would proudly fail a drug test and if any Congresspeople or Senators talked shit to me, I'd have to put the smack down because I'm not playing like that, for real.
These hearings won't be fun for me or Congress but they will make awesome television. And I am pretty sure all I have to do is lean over into the microphone ominously and occasionally sweat.
And I can do that.
So we tried a Democrat, we tried a Republican, how about we try a businessman to run the Commerce Department?
Assuming Judd Gregg has some reasonable level of professionalism and no lurking personal issues, then all that's left is that the Republicans got to him.
Judd Gregg fought hard to deny the Commerce Secretary the ability to use the latest techniques to ensure the most accurate Census count. I am glad to see Senator Gregg go.
The most generous interpretation of the J.Gregg mess is that he is personally a fool. Darker interpretations are possible given the rampant partisanship among the republican remnants in DC.
How anyone with all those "years of experience" in our government could have thought that, as a cabinet officer, he would not have to actively support the White House agenda is beyond me. Now he can "be his own man" again... and possibly he could just go on home and disappear from history altogether. We have enough fools in Washington as it it is... too many in fact for these perilous times... especially in the republican party.
This is a win for the Obamas. Another free lesson in "post-partisan" politics. It takes two to tango and the republicans just don't want to dance.
Byron York confirms that it was Rethuglican pressure that forced Gregg out.
From Atlantic.
Byron York confirmed that it was Republican partisan pressure that forced Gregg to pull out. The idea that a Republican could help give Obama cover on entitlement reform and that he would preside over a big increase in Hispanic representation in the Census was too much for the Rovian partisans. Shill Kristol lets the cat out of the bag:
they were worried that clever "post-partisan" or bipartisan tactics by Obama could split and weaken an already uncertain and demoralized GOP.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/02/the-gops-war-on.html
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