Obama acknowledged the setback and said on Wednesday: "Now, I'm sure it's not lost on anyone that we've tried this a couple of times, but I'm a big believer in keeping at something until you get it right. And Gary is the right man for this job."
The young presidency of Obama has been beset by problems with Cabinet nominees.
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US Former Washington state Governor Gary Locke makes a speech, as US Presidend Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden stand by, after he was nominated as commerce secretary in US President Barack Obama's administration, at the White House, Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25, 2009. [Zhang Yan/Xinhua]
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He is still searching for a candidate to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, after former Senate Democratic leader Thomas Daschle ran into obstacles.
Both Daschle and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner were involved in tax controversies. Geithner, however, was ultimately confirmed by the Senate.
Locke was the country's first Chinese-American governor, elected to lead the Washington state in 1996 and re-elected in 2000.
Prior to governorship, the Democrat served 5 terms in the House of Representatives and one term as executive of King County, Washington.
He was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee from 1989 to 1994.
Locke earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Yale University, and a law degree from Boston University.
Analysts said he is a Democrat who "is a comfortable ideological fit with the Obama administration."
While the Secretary of Commerce is not regarded as one of the top-tier power posts in the US Cabinet, he could serve as a voice for the globalists in the new administration.
He comes squarely out of the free-trade mindset of the mainstream business community in the northwestern United States and has a good relationship with China.
Personally, Locke seems like he would fit in with the "No Drama Obama" approach to governing.
During his tenure as governor, he has the reputation of being awonkish, pragmatic figure who was not unnecessarily combative.
A White House statement described Locke as a "tireless and successful champion of American products, services and jobs."
(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2009)