Pick up your wedge and push, damn it!

I'm thoroughly annoyed by the announcement that Gregg has withdrawn his nomination as Commerce Secretary. It's not that I'm a Gregg fan; it's that he shouldn't have been nominated in the first place.

Perhaps this will finally make Obama realize that bipartisanship has no inherent value; it’s only meaningful if it achieves an optimal result. Nominating a fiscally conservative Republican to head the Department of Commerce at a time when virtually every credible economist agrees that massive government spending is in order? As ill-advised as it was bold.

He knows what needs to be done. He has majorities in both chambers of Congress. He (hopefully still) has a vast amount of political goodwill with the American public. So he ought to quit bending over backwards trying to demonstrate how nicely he’s willing to play. Just do what needs to be done and let the results speak for themselves!

It bewilders me why he’s acting infinitely more timidly than Bush -- a man who declared “I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it” after prevailing with the slimmest of margins.

You’ve earned a big huge wedge, Obama. Now start using it! Geez! We don't need Kumbaya; we need action already. I hope he doesn't end up as a classic case of someone trying to please everyone who ends up pleasing no one.