Another Disappointment

Commentary By Ron Beasley

President Obama continues to disappoint.  The change promised is not so much change.  As Cernig pointed out below his "compromise" on Iraq will keep us in Iraq longer than promised.  The latest disappointment is Gary Locke to be appointed for commerce secretary.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate former Washington Gov. Gary Locke to be commerce secretary on Wednesday in his third try to fill the job.

Locke, a Democrat, became the nation's first Chinese-American governor when he took office in 1997 and served two terms. Obama planned to make the announcement on Wednesday, said an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been made public.

His appointment drew quick applause from fellow Washington-state Democrats.

"Who better than Gary to understand international trade and our relationship with China? He gets it better than anyone," Gov. Chris Gregoire said Tuesday. Asked if she expected Locke to be confirmed, Gregoire said: "If Gary Locke cannot be confirmed, I don't think anybody can get confirmed."

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., also praised Locke's selection.

"Obviously a lot of growth in our economy is through exports, and obviously he knows how important exports can be for big sectors like Boeing and Microsoft and agriculture. And he might be the first commerce secretary who comes into office with some understanding of fish," she said.

Don't get me wrong, Locke was a good governor and a fine person.  The problem is he's a gung ho free trade kind of guy.  Maybe I'm wrong - the state of Washington depends on trade and as governor he was supposed to look after that state's best interest.  perhaps now that he is representing the entire country he will see things differently.  But I still don't see it as a hopeful sign.

Comments

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I moved to WA during Locke's first term. I cannot remember ANY important legislation coming from his admin. To me it seemed like the only time the guy was out front was when his wife had another kid and he had a presser to announce it. Yeah, he was REAL interested in trade with Pacific rim countries. Which might be a good thing. But in general I am not impressed by this appointment.