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As the RIPs and conspiracy theories proliferate….there are some on the Hill (who shall remain nameless) who are just, um, pissed…..and I quote:
Peanuts. The contamination of peanuts and how important the Food and Drug Administration urgently needs to address this problem.
That’s all that was left of Tom Daschle’s chances to lead the nation to serious health care reform. There was the President’s spokesman talking about peanuts moments after Daschle withdrew his name to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services. HHS oversees the FDA and thereby gave the spokesman the hook he was so desperately seeking to change the subject from the former Democratic Senate leader having been thrown overboard.
The most alarming thing about this for passionate Obama supporters like me is that it wreaks of weakness, the very kind of weakness that opportunistic politicians (let’s start with the Congress)–and even worse, very evil leaders of states and tribes– prey upon.
Let’s start first with the very straightforward questions that anybody with a half-ounce of political sense would ask the President just before the abandonment of the guy he said, just yesterday, he was fully behind.
Just to save time, let’s stipulate that all the answers are “Yes”. Do you believe that Tom Daschle would be a terrific member of your cabinet? Do you believe he would be a key player in your quest to bring about substantive health reform? Do you believe that his popularity in the Congress, his personal charm and his knowledge of the health care system would be a huge plus?
And, here’s the most important immediate question Mr. President: Do you believe that Daschle could be confirmed by the Senate with plenty of room to spare?
That last question is really easy to answer. Tom Daschle would’ve been confirmed if he failed to pay some taxes in timely fashion. Even if he admitted smoking dope as a teen. Or if it turned out he had a 3.1 instead of the 3.6 GPA on his resume.
This was not a question of Daschle’s weakness as a nominee. It was a question of Obama’s strength as a new president.
This White House may be reeling a bit, even before the furniture is all moved in, because in their previous incarnation–as a campaign–they promised to rid Washington of anything resembling ethical lapses.
So they overpromised. Surprise, surprise. But the way to correct overpromising is not to cave on the really important things. Is there any evidence that the Move.on/Youtube propelled President is going to lose those millions of supporters because he sticks with a genuine progressive health care advocate.
In so many ways, this Daschle thing was not a complicated challenge for the new Administration. Read my lips Mr. Gibbs:
“We like him. We love him. We think he’s smart. The Congress likes him. He will surely appeal to the American public, especially those yearning for health care reform. This is about serious reform. His taxes are paid. He did not do this intentionally. And, by the way, he can get confirmed and be in the office, at work, by tomorrow.”
What’s the big political downside by sticking by him? If you’re at eight-percent approval, let’s say the worst case is that staying with Daschle leads to a flurry of press reports on how your administration has abandoned its ethics platform and you end up blowing three of those eighty points. That’s worst case. Somewhere in between that and nobody noticing is nobody really caring, at least not for long.
What was until recently a culture with a collective memory of a couple of weeks now, with the financial catastrophe permeating almost every city and village, is a culture with no time to fret about Tom Daschle’s tax payments.
What’s the political downside of abandoning him? It lends weight to and helps fuel the notion that the new President wants to please everybody. One morning he appoints a Republican as Commerce Secretary who once wanted to abolish that Department. That afternoon he tosses overboard a former Senator who is passionate about health care reform and the importance of government in bringing it about.
Those who want to take him down, or cause problems for him abroad must be licking their chops.
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