Why Obama's Well-Oiled Machine Screwed Up on Daschle and Company

The great puzzle in the Tom Daschle tax scam is how President Obama's vetter's missed it. Or as Obama himself sheepishly admitted in an interview, "I screwed up." The simple answer is Obama's vetting team did ask Daschle, as well as then Treasury secretary nominee, Timothy Geithner and Nancy Killefer his would be nominee as chief performance officer pointed questions about their taxes. They either lied about it, had a memory lapse, or were confused about what they did or didn't owe. But that doesn't really explain why Obama's machine sputtered.

During the campaign the Obama political machine smashed every known standard for how to run a virtual hitch free, efficient political campaign. It paid meticulous attention to every detail, big and little; whether formulating detailed policy papers, internet use, and donor and voter mailings, fund raising, coordinating volunteers, putting up a model website, staff hires, and corralling a crack team of advisors. It tossed out in lightning speed a fact filled response or rebuttal to any and every attack point by Republican rival John McCain. It produced reams of supporting data to make policy points during debates and for interviews.

Taxes, of all things, were the big hit point by McCain against Obama. And Obama parried it every time. He churned out some of the most detailed, fine point numbers on tax policy to make the case that his plan was far superior to anything that McCain proposed on tax reform. Yet his machine still broke down on something as elementary as whether his three nominees paid their taxes or not.

That was part of the problem. It was too elementary a question; something that could be too easily checked. And it was. Every prospective nominee had to fill out a 63 point questionnaire. The questionnaire was so detailed that it raised eyebrows and even drew some criticism that it pried too deeply into a job candidate's personal affairs.

Taxes were an important part of the questions asked. A prospective nominee simply did not have the option to lie or fudge on whether they paid their taxes or not. It was not like trying to conceal or deny whether they had an affair, hired an undocumented worker, or saw a shrink. Tax filings and records are the most basic of public documents and in theory they are thoroughly scrutinized. The vetters are not supposed to rely on let alone accept the word of the prospective nominee that they paid what they owed.

Nothing angers Americans more than the thought that the rich and well-healed routinely duck, dodge, scam and swindle the tax man and the infrequent times they are caught red handed scream that it was a math or clerical error, oversight, or ignorance and skip away with a light hand slap. That was Daschle and Geithner's cop out excuse. Meanwhile, the little guy gets squeezed by the IRS for every dime owed. And if they try to dodge their bill get hit with hefty penalties, fines, and even jail time. But the little guy taxpayer is not part of the too clubby circle of political or corporate insiders. Daschle and Geithner are. Obama deemed them indispensable point men in his drive to break the nation's economic freefall and to remake the health care system.

This made it easy to overlook, ignore, or simply take on blind faith their sworn word that they were as pure as Caesar's wife in their dealings. They weren't. Not knowing that was not just a case of Obama's well-oiled machine momentarily slipping out of gear. It shows that it's a lot easier to run a campaign machine than to run a government.

Obama says that it won't happen again. The machine will have to be retooled to make sure that it doesn't.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is How Obama Won (Middle Passage Press, January 2009). learnhowobamawon.blogspot.com

Comments

[1will]

Obama got to enjoy a fawning media and cult like devotion from his followers.­..um, er, supporters during the election. Now that he has the White House the media can actually attempt to act like journalists and cover a story that makes Obama look bad. Of course most of the tar and feathers are poured on Daschle. Obama's supporters can now take a breath and stop pretending Obama is the first perfect person to walk the Earth in almost 2000 years. Hopefully they'll be able to see that he lies, fumbles and screws up just like other politiicians.
Obama should take note that the free ride is over. The media is still mostly on his side but they will start investigating stories now instead of merely reporting someone else's allegations and Obama's rebuttal. He should fear something he has never had to deal with in the past.....i­nvestigati­ve journalism.

[Nommo]

There hasn't been a lick of investigative journalism in this country for years.

[Tanyars5]

Investigative journalism­.......whe­re were/are the investigative journalists when it comes to all of the corruption on wall street....­.....did you hear that guy who tipped off the SEC about Madoff years ago......a­nd no one is in jail?????? give me a break 1will.....­...

[RusStyles]

Unless he admitted it, how would any vetter know Daschele didn't pay taxes on free car rides? I admire Obama for taking responsibility, but I have no earthly idea how he could of avoided this outcome. Bear in mind that he's appointed hundreds of cabinet /subcabinet positions in record time. The press blew this totally out of proportion; as well all know, scandal sells. And, overall, the press hasn't had much scandal to hang on Obama since Wright...

[UncommonSenz]

My sentiments exactly.

Here are the questions that would have to have been added:

Did you ever receive the use of a free car and driver and then fail to report them?

Did you pay unemployment taxes on domestic help?

Aside from that, there is no way to know in advance that they didn't. And there are 1 million other questions like that you would have to ask that would cover the entire gamut of possible ways to mess up your taxes.

[Stefano]

This really bothers me. Accidentally or just trying to get over on the system, not paying your taxes just plays right into the repubs hands. I've already heard the comments, maybe if they paid their taxes, they wouldn't have to raise mine. Its disheartening, I spent alot of my own effort trying to justify Biden's remarks about "patriotic taxes" and now all this. Its really very sad that the people who make the rules on the tax system either don't understand it or understand it so well they know how to get over on it. Its not a democrats vs republican thing, its a rich thing. The "poor rich" are taking a beating lately, all with their tax evasion, cancelled bonuses, and wrecked Ponzi schemes. Its not easy having green... man that was bad, sorry.