Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel Go After the Census

1. Gregg asks Obama (not the other way around) for the appointment as Commerce Secretary almost certainly because among other things, he wanted to be able to fulfill his long-standing desire to water down the census just like GWB did by under-counting minorities, the poor, and the homeless the in the first place. He wanted the job in part so that he could strangle the census.

2. Obama grants Gregg his wish, and nominates Gregg for Commerce Secretary.

3. Individuals and groups who are aware of Gregg's contempt for a census that includes everyone -- because that is standard Republican dogma and is something that is anathema to most Republican leaders -- come forth to express their deep concerns about placing a fox in charge of the census chicken coop.

4. When Obama learns from those groups of Gregg's preference for an unfairly limited census -- something Gregg has fought for in the past -- the President agrees to move control of the census out from under Gregg's jurisdiction. Obama does this out his zeal for bipartisanship, because he still wanted Gregg as his Commerce Secretary. MOVING THE CENSUS TO ANOTHER DEPARTMENT WOULD ALLOW OBAMA TO GET HIS NOMINATION APPROVED BY THE SENATE DEMOCRATS WHO WOULD OTHERWISE VOTE AGAINST HIM BASED ON GREGG'S HOSTILITY TO THE CENSUS.

5. When Gregg learns that one key area which he wanted to control -- the census -- is now out of the Commerce Secretary's jurisdiction, he decides he doesn't want the job anymore and so he withdraws his nomination!

There is NOTHING suspicious or nefarious about Obama's bending-over-backwards in order to try to fulfill Gregg's request to be Commerce Secretary -- compromises that were necessary to get Gregg's nomination through the Senate -- but there's a huge amount that is suspicious in Gregg's behavior! He tried to to scam us by taking control of the census, but when he learned that his manipulative ruse failed, he scampered away, defeated.

emmb of MI 2:27AM February 16, 2009