Yesterday, in the face of a chorus of news organizations calling on him to step down, Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination for HHS Secretary. According to NBC's Andrea Mitchell, upon reading Tuesday morning's New York Times editorial about his confirmation, he concluded he would be a distraction to the cause of health care reform were he to continue his fight.
The problem with his decision - and with the accusatory editorials - is that, for all the saber-rattling to the contrary, his actions actually were excusable. The only thing more implausible than believing that a multi-millionaire with national ambitions would willfully try to defraud the IRS of $140,000 is believing that a man like that actually does his own taxes. Of course, he signs his name to them and is, as such, legally responsible for their content. But morally reprehensible? It was an error on his taxes, most likely committed by his CPA.
By withdrawing his nomination, Daschle is legitimizing the notion that cabinet secretaries should be picked or disqualified based on criterion other than their competence and capacity, their management skills and leadership. Tom Daschle was to be charged with running a massive government bureaucracy. He was to spearhead an effort to bring real, lasting health care reform to a country desperately seeking it. He has unique relationships with the Senators he once led, an unmatched knowledge of legislative strategy and procedure, and was an eye-witness to what went wrong when reform was attempted in 1994. He is exceptionally qualified.
The cause of health care reform has suffered because of an inside-the-beltway distraction. If confirmed, when the time came for health care reform, is it really conceivable that Daschle's rocky entrance into the Obama cabinet would have impacted his ability to get the job done? What form could such a distraction possibly take, months, perhaps years after a relatively small confirmation blip?
There is no doubt that Daschle was about to face a substantial storm, a brutal and embarrassing crucible that few would like to endure. But he would have endured. Had he been willing to weather the storm, he would have prevailed. And when President Obama was ready to make health care reform a reality in this country, the man he most trusted to do the job could have been there, standing by his side.
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Joe Trippi: Daschle's Situation, and the Small-Dollar Solution
Like many decent people, Daschle got caught in a bad system that is so corrupted by money it hardly matters whether the money is from good people with good intentions or bad people with bad intentions.
The only reason the taxes get jumped on is that its an easy record to access.
This combined with the Lobbyist (something BO promised he wouldn't do) says to me Character Issue.
And yes, I don't like the guy at all...
Ultimately, Daschle had to go. I do agree it is a big loss. I also cannot understand how a CPA would make such a mistake. I bet whoever it is does not get any high profile business in the future!
It's time we quit excusing the wealthy and famous, no matter how able or talented, for their "foibles."
He disqualified himself.
So, when doing the Secretary's job, he could say "I didn't actually write these policies, they were written by my staff and I didn't check them before I signed them"?
I am tired of the word mistake being used to justify everything that one does wrong.
By the way, I'm a raging liberal.
Tonight B.O. was trashing the failed policies of the original TARP. Someone should remind B.O. that Geithner was the NY fed chief who architected the TARP with Hank Paulson? HA-HA. You just can’t make this stuff up. He is your freaking-tax-evading-illegal-immigrant-nanny-employer secretary of the treasury!!!
Was he driven around in a gold Rolls by Scarlet Johanson?
Will he penalized and harrassed by the IRS? No! Hes Tom Daschle--Man Elite..Man Liberal- A liberal that doesnt want to pay their tax. How typical
I think Obama and everyone in the admin so far need to audited
needs an audit
Meanwhile, Republicans are salivating as they could not wait for Obama to screw-up ( to use his own term.)
SIGH...Bush is gone!
Ordinary souls like us would be in handcuffs already.