President Barack Obama formally unveiled Judd Gregg as his choice to lead the Commerce Department, playing up his decision to reach across the aisle to someone with "strict fiscal discipline."

"Clearly, Judd and I don't agree on every issue -- most notably who should have won the election," Obama said in the Grand Foyer of the White House this morning. "But we agree on the urgent need to get American businesses and families back on their feet. We see eye to eye on conducting the nation's business in a responsible, transparent and accountable manner. And we know the only way to solve the great challenges of our time is to put aside stale ideology and petty partisanship, and embrace what works."

Obama tipped his hat to Gregg's father, even making a subtle link with him. Gov. Hugh Gregg, the president noted, was the youngest chief executive in New Hampshire's history, and took office as mills were closing and "folks were laid off."

"[Gregg] watched his dad work tirelessly to attract new industry, the kind that created jobs that carried with them a sense of dignity and self worth," Obama said.

Gregg, himself a former governor, said that now "is a time to govern and govern well."

"This is not a time when we should stand in our ideological corners and shout at each other," he said. "When the President asked me to join his administration and participate in trying to address the issues of this time, I believed it was my obligation to say yes, and I look forward to it with enthusiasm."

Gregg, who if confirmed would resign from the Senate with two years left in his third term, curiously thanked Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, "for his courtesy and courage in being willing to make this possible through the agreement that we have relative to my successor in the Senate." Lynch is expected to name a moderate Republican placeholder to the seat.

At the end of the brief ceremony, CNN's Ed Henry tried to ask the president about why members of his administration have trouble paying taxes. Obama stopped ever so briefly, but did not answer the question.