By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Three thoughts on Sen. Judd Gregg's withdrawal from consideration as President Obama's Commerce Secretary.

1)Maybe glitches in the nominations process are unavoidable. Obama's disciplined team thought they could avoid the problems encountered by previous presidents, especially Bill Clinton. They started early, set up an extensive vetting process, and still ran into trouble.

2)Bipartisanship really may be overrated. Obama tried with Gregg, a conservative Republican, and look where it got him.

3)Things are looking good for Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius being offered the Health and Human Services position. With Obama's people now back at Square One on the commerce job, they'll probably want to get the HHS post filled quickly. Or maybe she'll get a look for commerce secretary.