BREAKING NEWS: Daschle Withdraws
According to this article, Tom Daschle has removed himself from consideration to be the next Secretary of HHS:
Tom Daschle is withdrawing his name from consideration to head HHS, saying he does not want to be a distraction.
“If 30 years of exposure to the challenges inherent in our system has taught me anything, it has taught me that this work will require a leader who can operate with the full faith of Congress and the American people, and without distraction. Right now, I am not that leader,” Daschle says in a statement just issued by the White House.
President Obama says in the statement that Daschle “made a mistake, which he has openly acknowledged. He has not excused it, nor do I. But that mistake, and this decision, cannot diminish the many contributions Tom has made to this country.”
This storyline had started to dominate the news. After Nancy Killefer withdrew her name from consideration for tax issues, it became apparent that President Obama wanted to rid himself of this storyline. Unfortunately for him, with Tim Geithner still being the Treasury Secretary, there will always be a constant reminder that President Obama nominated people with tax problems.
Yesterday, I said that Sen. Daschle wasn’t the only man on the planet who could fix our health care system. It’s my opinion that the private sector has already done more to reduce health care costs than Sen. Daschle was likely to accomplish as Secretary of HHS.
With Sen. Daschle’s withdrawal now in the rearview, the biggest remaining question about his fledgling administration is whether President Obama will call for a total rewrite of the stimulus bill.
Technorati Tags: Tom Daschle, Taxes, Nancy Killefer, Tim Geithner, Corruption, President Obama, Stimulus Package, Democrats
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog