Gregg to Commerce and Culver Safe

Cutting the deal in New Hampshire

Well, we can cross Judd Gregg off the which GOP senator gets primaried list, as he leaves the Senate, goes to Commerce, and gets a GOP replacement. If memory serves me right, the last time a governor willingly crossed party lines with an appointment was in 1960 in Oregon, in a clear placeholder move. (This doesn't count Wyoming last year, when the Democratic governor was required by law to name a Republican).

With Holder confirmed at Justice last night, Gregg completes the cabinet... or nearly so. Hilda Solis at Labor is getting stalled, but that day will come. Daschle is in some real trouble at Health and Human Services, and the left doesn't have Obama's back on this one. There's a not so secret hope that Daschle tanks and we get another shot at what we really wanted: Howard Dean.

As for the GOP Senate Infight Primary Watch, ... is it J.D. Hayworth taking on... McCain? That would be a home-state repudiation rivaling Michael Dukakis (chosen successor drops out of primary at last minute, 16 years of GOP governors in most Democratic state in union... now THAT'S a repudiation.)

Iowa tends to keep its governors, not repudiate them. Stuart Rothenberg runs through the 2009-10 governors races and lists Chet as Currently Safe. But Politico says the 2010 governor races that'll be on the radar are the ones where redistricting is important. Iowa's nonpartisan system is considered a model for the nation, so Culver doesn't matter to the map.

Another way Iowa's a model for the nation is our judicial retention elections. Sure, all those YES and NO lines at the bottom of the general election ballot are mind-numbing... but what if we had partisan judge elections? You get stuff like Roy "Ten Commandments" Moore in Alabama.

Ah, Alabama. Remember when Obama used to use that "Alabama/Yo Mama" joke about his name, Iowans?