Obama New Commerce Pick - Another Hillary Supporter

As reported by The Washington Post, MSNBC and the Baltimore Sun - President Barack Obama today nominated Gary Locke, former governor of Washington, to serve as secretary of commerce. The former two-term Democratic governor who left office in 2005 holds experience in international trade and was an early supporter of Obama's main rival in the 2008 Democratic primary campaign, Hillary Clinton.

He was the nation's first Chinese-American governor when he took office in 1997. The pick marks the president's third attempt at seating a commerce secretary, filling in the membership of his Cabinet.

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His first two picks -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, and New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, a Republican -- withdrew. Richardson cited an investigation of state contracting in New Mexico, and Gregg irreconcilable political differences with the president. More HERE

AAPP: Let's see how this one pans out. Barack obama's administration is looking more like a Hillary administration, with a few black included for "coloring."

Mecury News notes, Locke is regarded as a safe choice by officials in the Obama administration given his long history in public life, his strait-laced reputation and his bipartisan governing credentials - More HERE. The Huffington Post reports, Locke's record is not completely unblemished. He was briefly linked to a scandal over foreign contributions to President Bill Clinton's 1996 campaign. In July 1998, he gave a deposition to the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight about his relationships with questioned Clinton donors. But the committee later said the deposition produced no evidence that Locke knowingly accepted illegal campaign donations. More HERE

Check out the Seattle Weekly, that has documented some interesting tid bits on Locke.
Link Source Michelle Malkin.

Of course, there was that memory loss and all those “I don’t recall . . . I don’t remember” statements to Congressional investigators in 1999, probing his gubernatorial campaign fund-raising efforts; the astonishing $3.2 billion tax break he gave to Boeing while never disclosing he paid $715,000 to - and relied on the advice of - Boeing’s own private consultant and outside auditor for advice; and those favors for his brother-in-law (who lived in the governor’s mansion), including a tax break for his relative’s company, personal intervention in a company dispute, and Locke’s signature on a federal loan application for the company.

Other than that, yes, squeaky clean.