Well, I guess we won't have Tom Daschle to kick around anymore......
Less than 24 hours after emphatically stating that he was "absolutely" committted to Daschle's appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services, President Obama told Daschle:
"Thanks, but no thanks."
Here's the story from Yahoo News:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama_failed_nominees
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama on Tuesday abruptly abandoned his nomination fight for Tom Daschle and a second major appointee who failed to pay all their taxes, fearing a lingering ethics dispute would undercut his claims to moral high ground and cripple his presidency in just its second week. "I screwed up," Obama declared.
"It's important for this administration to send a message that there aren't two sets of rules - you know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes," Obama said near the end of a day of jarring developments, little more than 24 hours after he had said he was "absolutely" committed to Daschle's confirmation.
"I'm frustrated with myself, with our team. ... I'm here on television saying I screwed up," Obama said on NBC's "Nightly News with Brian Williams." He repeated virtually the same words in interviews with other TV anchors.
Hours earlier, the White House had announced that Daschle had asked to be removed from consideration as health and human services secretary and that Nancy Killefer had made the same request concerning what was to be her groundbreaking appointment as a chief performance officer to make the entire government run better.
Ironically, it was two weeks to the day since Obama's inauguration..........
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Comments: 39
Good riddance to Daschle, as far as I'm concerned. We need to vote ALL of these bums out of Congress, Democrat AND Republican.
I'm picturing his littlest girl going into school without her homework and saying "I screwed up"
Oh... that's right.... Democrats want everyone else to pay for their spending programs....
What was I thinking?
Gregory, Republicans want to borrow money in your name. Democrats are pay as you go. Which is better policy?
Imagine if we had angry, fly-off-at-the-handle McCain leading us. Let's give President Obama a chance to get us back up and running. Just remember, people, President Obama is smarter than you. You sat back and allowed Bush to drunk-drive us into a ditch. Why can't you just settle down and see what our new, smarter, thoughtful President can do?
Three deeply flawed nominees, a fourth on the way (John Ogden, an extremist nominated for Asst. Attorney General), and his support of a corrupt "stimulus" bill, have both damaged the people's confidence in him and made an adoring media question his decisions.
Can he recover? Sure, if he has a quick string of winning decisions. But, it the present trend continues for long, and his team continues to perform as it has, President Obama will be a footnote to history.
Yeah, I know, no chance of that......
Really, really, really wish I did. I'd also force every last one of them to take an economics course, and a civics course to learn about Presidents Carter - Bush...sigh....
What planet are you living on? The Democrats are spending money like it was being printed in the backroom and still wet on the hangers. Have you forgotten the Democrats have controlled both houses since 2006? Congress spends the money, not the President.