To you, apparently. Your point of view is not the only one that has merit.
I didn’t say your opinion had no merit. I was saying that viewing this entirely as a political matter, and for that matter assuming that Obama pushed Bryson out for political reasons when there’s no reason not to accept stated reasons, is kind of callous.
But anyways, to answer the original question. I think the next Secretary will be Bryson. His story seems to be checking out (he tested negative for drugs/alchol) and no one was hurt in the car accidents. Assuming nothing else emerges I don’t really see anyone holding the incident against him or Obama. If his condition can be controlled by meds, there isn’t really any reason for him to leave.
If his medical condition is not such that it can be controlled by meds, then I’ll WAG Richardson as the next SoC. He was the original choice for the post, he seems to have gotten clear of the charges that caused him to forgo nomination hearings last time and it doesn’t appear that he’s busy at the moment., And since whomever is selected will get fillibustered anyways, it doesn’t hurt to have it be a popular, western, hispanic governor the GOP is blocking in the run-up to the election.
Agree completely. Unless Bryson wants to resign it’s not clear why he won’t be back. I don’t see any significant political repercussions from the incident.
Yeesh, Oak. It looks like the guy probably had a seizure or some other wacky brain event, I don’t see why you have to try to make some big deal out of this. If it turns out he had just left an all-night hookers and blow party, then fine, but so far you are looking pretty sad here, broseph.
And when * Rand Rover* is telling someone to dial back on the partisan conservative analysis …
BTW, I never heard of this guy before but apparently before getting the cabinet post, he was the CEO of a California utility. Prior to that, though, he was one of the founders of the Natural Resources Defense Council. So a somewhat unusual combination.
Yes, it is critical that he not be placed in a position of responsibility because during his next (second, IIRC) seizure he may go postal and kill everybody before him on the list. And even without that, could the country survive having a Commerce Secretary who has to take a nap now and then? Who would dictate a sternly-worded memo to his Chinese counterpart? Oh yeah–he would, after his nap. :rolleyes:
My daughter has seizures and when I heard the account of the accidents I said it sounded like a seizure before I heard the newsperson say that some were suggesting it. She doesn’t drive and may never drive, but we’ve known that since she was eight. I’m sorry Bryson learned about it in such a messy and public way, but if it is a symptom of a tumor I hope they can fix it.
I’ve watched my daughter work on a Sudoku puzzle while still in a seizure. Brains are real weird.
Note that people can occasionally have seizures, possibly for completely unknown causes. And we don’t start by immediately questioning their continued fitness for doing there jobs.
Note that Chief Justice John Roberts had a seizure on July 30, 2007. Here, a neurologist discusses it. It was his second seizure, the first having happened 14 years earlier.
I used to work for the California Utility Company while Bryson was there. Between founding the NRDC and becoming CEO of SCE he worked on the California State Water Resources Board and then at the California Public Utilities Commission, so its not like he went straight from the NRDC to SCE.
Suppose Bryson does not resign and Obama does not fire him. Would the Pubs in the House start impeachment procedings?
For what?
I see no basis for impeachment, unless he’s charged with a felony, which appears unlikely.
To paraphrase Gerald Ford, the basis would be the House wanting to impeach him.
I havn’t heard it confirmed that Bryson actually had a seizure or if he’s (or rather a spokeswoman is) is merely claiming that he did.
And I disagree that he was in a post-ictal state during the accident since he would have likely been asleep. If he did have a seizure, it would have most likely been a complex-partial seizure. For me this is the key
[QUOTE=Epilepsy Foundation]
During a complex partial seizure, a person cannot interact normally with other people, is not in control of his or her movements, speech or actions; doesn’t know what he or she is doing; and cannot remember afterwards what happened during the seizure.
Although someone may appear to be conscious because he or she remains standing with their eyes open and moving about, it will be an altered consciousness—a dreamlike, almost trancelike state.
Often accompanied by movements called automatisms. These may include chewing movements of the mouth, picking at clothes or fumbling.
A person may even be able to speak, but the words are unlikely to make sense and he or she will not be able to respond to others in an appropriate way.
[/QUOTE]
So when he talked to the people after the first accident, if he were relatively coherent I would say no seizure but if he were “out of it” I would say seizure.
It sounds like Bryson is resigning. The last indications were that he was not going to be charged in the car crashes, so I’m wondering if he’s gotten bad news about his health or expects testing or treatment to take a long time. Anybody think the Senate is going to to confirm a new nominee before January? I’m going to go ahead and say no.