Judd Gregg, February 3rd:

"This is not a time when we should stand in our ideological corners and shout at each other. This is a time to govern and govern well. It was my obligation to say yes."

Judd Gregg, today:

"(I)t has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy."

Look, it wasn't the stimulus package, which Gregg was on record as supporting.  It wasn't the census being taken away from Commerce, because that was known to Gregg at the time of his nomination.

I have to say even I am a little taken aback by the force of the Republican assault. Even in a downturn as swift and alarming as this one, even after an election that clearly favored one approach over another, even after the most conciliatory efforts by an incoming president in memory, these people have gone to war against the president. The president should stay cool. The rest of us should realize what motivates the GOP: the opportunism of selective ideology.

UPDATE:  Or maybe it has to do with this?