A source in the Senate passes on the following info: Part of the hypothetical deal to make Republican Senator Judd Gregg Commerce Secretary is the appointment, by New Hampshire's Democratic Governor John Lynch, of a moderate Republican to his seat for the last two years. The potential choice? Former Republican governor (and head of Republicans for Lynch during the Democrat's 2006 campaign) Walter Peterson. Peterson, who is 86 years old, would serve as a caretaker until the regularly scheduled 2010 election. Not quite the same as having 60 votes in the Senate for the Dems, and I don't know much about Peterson, but I get the sense that he would fall into the older tradition of Yankee Republicans who don't mind crossing party lines.
-- Tim Fernholz
