Gregg's enigmatic withdrawal embarrasses Obama

News that Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire has withdrawn his name from nomination to be secretary of Commerce is a blow to President Obama's administration, no matter how the White House spins it. Obama might not be at fault in this snafu, but it transpires as an embarrassment for the White House. Gregg has become the third Cabinet nominee and the second Commerce nominee to withdraw. Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew because of a corruption investigation in New Mexico, and Tom Daschle withdrew as Health and Human Services nominee because of a tempest over his $5 million in lobbying income (though he was not, technically, a lobbyist) and an embarrassing late payment of taxes on unclaimed income.

Richardson and Daschle were the perpetrators in these embarrassments, and it appears that Gregg suffered an unfortunate reversal of decisiveness. He said he would, and then he said he wouldn't. He blamed irreconcilable differences with the administration but wouldn't get specific. His dithering makes him look wishy-washy and, therefore, not a very good Cabinet pick after all.

The problem is that Gregg was going to be Obama's offering on the altar of bipartisanship. He would leave Defense Secretary Robert Gates as the only Republicans in the Cabinet. Having a bipartisan Cabinet is certainly not a requirement, but Obama has made a mantra of bipartisanship and a new approach to politics. Now, with very little Republican support for his stimulus package and the loss of a GOP Cabinet nominee, things are looking like the same old partisan politics.

Not that it's all Obama's fault. Some Republican members of Congress have praised him for his willingness to listen to them, to consult with them and to invite them to the White House. Part of the problem may be that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi did not run for re-election on a bipartisanship platform and haven't been as interested in Republican views. It also appears that Republican leaders in the Senate and House are trying to hold together their reduced numbers to keep from being steamrolled by the wider Democratic majority.

Gregg's withdrawal is more of a symbolic loss for Obama than anything else. The president should have expected some bumps in the road along the way, even if his most avid supporters did not.