Oh my. It's a circus here at The White House. I'm sitting here in my cubicle in The White House press room and WH press assistant Nick Shapiro just handed me a written paper statement saying Daschle is pulling out as Health and Human Services Secretary Nominee because of all his tax problems. This is a blow. A Major blow.
Tom Daschle was the guy that President Obama truly believed would push through his health care proposal. And that debate on a health care bill was one of the first items on the agenda after the stimulus bill. Now who knows what happens to health care in the immediate future? Finding an HHS Secretary takes time and you can be sure this next person will be vetted slowly and surely. The Daschle withdrawal defintely delays health care.
The move today also is a blow to Obama because Daschle and Obama were very close. Daschle was one of the first big names to back Obama in the campaign and set Obama up with many capable staff members. Daschle was all set to have a west wing White House office. That is how important Daschle was viewed inside the Obama administration.
Let's face it. Daschle had become a distraction. And when you combine the White House press corp and a distraction like this, it's a no-win situation for team Obama. The last thing they wanted or needed is this thing to drag out for another week. Why? Because Daschle's problems plus Geitner plus Killefer today all send a message that the Obama administration does not want to take hold. That message is one of conflict. The obvious question here is how can you let officials slide on tax mistakes when you're trying to run an open and honest and ethics free administration. The two didn't jive. The result: Exit Daschle, Stage left.
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