Monday, February 02, 2009

Say It Ain’t So, Barack!
Category: News and Politics

I had a strange experience today. For the first time ever I found myself agreeing with Sean Hannity. It was not a pleasant experience – in fact, it made me feel kinda dirty. But, when he rails at President Obama for standing behind Tom Daschle (nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services), unfortunately Hannity is right on the money.

Daschle failed to pay over $100,000 in taxes resulting from private limousine services he received. Daschle only remedied the situation once it became clear that Obama would be President and that Daschle might have a chance to serve in the Cabinet. Regardless of whether this was a legitimate mistake, it looks terrible and undermines the credibility of the new Administration.

Given the enormous expectations that swept Obama into office, it was inevitable that some necessary disillusionment would set in. That being said, I’m shocked that the President would expend valuable political capital defending an establishment Democratic Party mainstay like Tom Daschle. I was willing to overlook Tim Geithner’s little tax hiccup, but Daschle’s is more glaring and indefensible. At a time when the American people are being asked to make painful sacrifices in order to put our country back on track, seeing a fat-cat like Daschle skate through a confirmation process simply because his party controls Congress just screams business-as-usual.

As someone who has high hopes for our new President and genuinely wishes him well, it is tempting to give him the benefit of the doubt. But it would also be a betrayal of the principles that Barack Obama built his campaign upon to overlook the fact that lately he is starting to look more and more like a typical Democrat. Where is the new blood in this administration? Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Leon Panetta, Larry Summers, Robert Rubin, Tim Geithner? And now we’re being asked to overlook a serious tax violation by a man who personified the divisive partisan politics of the last 20 years. Please, Mr. President, don’t make me agree with Sean Hannity. I don’t want to feel dirty anymore.

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