Tom Daschle has, under his usual cloud of scandal, withdrawn as President Obama's nominee to serve in the critical Cabinet position of Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Republicans think they have dealt the new president a blow.
In fact, by opposing Daschle so strenuously, and appropriately, Republicans and a handful of principled Democratic senators (who had quietly let the White House know they were not going to back the nomination) have done the new president and the nation a favor.
...
Rejected by voters in his homestate and unable to compete nationally, Daschle pulled a Dick Cheney move. The South Dakotan attached himself to the campaign of a viable contender in hopes that he might find a path to power as a member of the next Democratic administration.
Daschle worked hard for Obama, using all his dubious DC connections to advance the campaign at points where the freshman senator from Illinois was battling Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nod.
...
It took an old-fashioned scandal unpaid taxes to knock the former senator out of contention for the powerful post he coveted.
No one -- or, at least, no one who is invested either in securing real health care reform or seeing an Obama presidency succeed -- should mourn Daschle's departure.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/404778/don_t_mourn_for_daschle?rel=hp_picks
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