44, Day 24: Judd's Just Not That Into You

An ongoing log of the daily activities of the 44th president of the United States and what they might mean for business:

-President Obama lost another Cabinet pick, only this time not because of scandal. This one was Judd Gregg, the Republican senator from New Hampshire who was himself a replacement for Obama's first choice for Commerce Secetary. It really should come as no surprise Gregg withdrew his name--he said he had "irresolvable" differences over policy--the bigger surprise was that he got picked in the first place.

-At least Obama's choice for CIA director, former congressman and Clinton chief of staff Leon Panetta, sailed through his confirmation on a Senate voice vote.

-Finally in the personnel department, Obama tapped Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to be drug czar.

-Obama honored Abraham Lincoln on the 200th anniversary of his birth. Obama, speaking in Washington, urged Americans to remember Lincoln's message of putting national unity above political differences. "I feel a special gratitude to this singular figure who in so many ways made my own story possible -- and in so many ways made America's story possible," he said at an event in Washington. Later in the day, he left D.C. for Springfield, Illinois to further honor Lincoln.

by J. Jennings Moss

Sources: New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Fox News,