Bi-Partisanship? Or the Same Old Same Old?

Lest anyone think I'm totally besotted by the new Democratic Administration and will blindly endorse any and every move they make…

There IS the case of Mr. Obama's choice of a Republican Senator as Secretary of Commerce.

I'm certain Judd Gregg was a solid candidate, bore adequate credentials for the post, made sense on the surface and had all the appearances of a "reach across the aisle."

But perhaps the Administration would have been better served if they had not tagged a Republican senator from a state with a Democratic governor. Who would then be responsible for naming the senator's replacement.

Even I can see that this looks disingenuous. It's a pretty obvious attempt to appear bi-partisan while making sure the ultimate benefit will be to your own party.

I can just hear the party honchos sitting down with the President and hatching this "win/win" situation.

Unfortunately, nobody won on this one. The Democrats came off looking underhanded and insincere, and the Republicans seized the opportunity to grab hold of this chink in the Administration's armor and tear a pretty sizeable hole in it.

Bad move.

And we're still waiting for someone to make the first GENUINE move toward healing the partisan rift.