RELATED TO MASSACHUSETTS? – AT 2:32 P.M. ET:  This is pure speculation on my part, but maybe the Obamans realize, as a result of yesterday's mishap in Massachusetts, that they can't get away with shabby governing, including the appointment of defective officials, the way they used to.  From the Washington Post:

The Obama administration's choice to lead the struggling Transportation Security Administration withdrew his name from consideration Wednesday, just weeks after revelations that he had provided misleading information to Congress prompted several Republicans to suggest his nomination would not move forward without a fight.

Erroll Southers, a former FBI agent and homeland security specialist, was presented as a leader who would improve the TSA's sprawling operations and improve passenger screening to prevent such attacks as the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner.

But GOP opposition to Southers escalated rapidly after The Washington Post reported that Southers had given Congress and the White House misleading information about incidents two decades ago in which he inappropriately accessed a federal database to obtain information about his estranged wife's new boyfriend, possibly in violation of privacy laws.

In a statement released by the White House, Southers blamed congressional critics motivated by "political ideology" for the troubles that overshadowed his nomination.

COMMENT:  Southers was also quoted as saying that the environment was more important than terrorism, not exactly the kind of rallying cry you want at the TSA. 

Maybe the White House will now try to find an appointee without a painful past.  This is serious stuff.

January 20, 2010