It's A Locke

Gary Locke was the Governor of Washington State who was considered something of a rising star in the Democratic Party until he gave the worst Democratic response to a State of the Union in recent memory (perhaps eclipsed by almost every other Democrat in the Bush era - for some reason we kept giving these to boring speakers). Not much was heard from him again until today, when he was announced as Barack Obama's (third) pick for Secretary of Commerce.

Judging from the reaction by progressive Washingtonians, I'd say this pick is fine and should have been made in the first place. Ultimately, the Commerce Department, which provides needed economic statistics (which could be done other Treasury), runs the NOAA (which could be done under Interior or EPA) and the Census (which could be done under practically any other agency as it makes no sense under Commerce) and little else that I can discover, should be reconfigured or even eliminated. Obama could mark that under "streamlining government" and give Pete Peterson a big smile.