Second thoughts on Judd Gregg

Last night, I was simply puzzled by Gregg’s withdrawal. Then I listened to the audio of his withdrawal statement, rather than just reading it. What struck me was Greggs repeated statement about his inability to be part of a team if he wasn’t 100% or 110% part of a team.

No doubt, Gregg knew what kind of team he was joining. But until he joined, he may not have recognized what obligations come from being part of the team. When you’re in the Cabinet, you talk the president’s talking points and you better sound like you’re being sincere. Maybe Gregg thought that with the (hoped for) return of bipartisanship, he could be in the Obama Cabinet and still speak his mind as a Republican.

I admit, this is all mind-reading. We’re going on very little data. Thus, I think it’s reasonable for Charles Krauthammer to insist that Gregg’s withdrawal really was about White House efforts to politicize the census, even if Gregg downplayed that issue.

One thing I still can’t figure is the timing. Gregg seems very sincere in his respect for Obama and his desire to cause as little damage as possible. But if so, why didn’t Gregg wait until this afternoon to announce his withdrawal, so it would get buried in the weekend news? The way Gregg did it will persuade a lot of Democrats it was an intentional slap in the face.