Axelrod: Daschle Made the Decision to Withdraw This Morning
White House adviser David Axelrod just briefed reporters outside the Senate chamber on the withdrawal of Tom Daschle's nomination as health secretary. Axelrod attributed the decision to pull out to Daschle -- not anyone within the administration -- and suggested that the news came as a surprise to the president, especially coming one day after Democratic senators stood behind their former leader.
"He called [the White House] this morning" to withdraw from consideration, Axelrod said. "I think he made the decision this morning." The
As a former senator, Axelrod added, Daschle "had a clear picture that there was going to be a delay" in his confirmation after revelations that he make a late payment of more than $100,000 in back taxes on a free car and driver as well as other benefits.
Asked about the stimulus bill pending before Congress, Axelrod offered a noticeably temperate endorsement of the legislation as it stands.
"Obviously, no piece of legislation is perfect. This is a very complicated one ... you can point to any number of small things" to have concerns with, he said before touting the larger need for an economic recovery bill.
Josh
Elana
Matt
Eric
Hopefully Obama doesn't pick another Republican this time around. Something just doesn't seem right about picking a vegan to be your butcher:
http://tinyurl.com/dktkvj
I think it is time for Dr. Dean to step up, unless someone more progressive is hanging around with a resume (and paid taxes).
February 3, 2009 2:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think that Howard Dean would make a good choice. Why hasn't he been considered for any cabinet posts yet? Is is only because he and Rahm Emanuel (supposedly) do not get along well?
February 3, 2009 4:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
You know what? I think we should just commence impeachment proceedings right now. These two weeks have been the worst two weeks in presidential history. First, there's the failed stimulus package - you know, the one that was approved in the House and hasn't even been voted on by the Senate. Then there was that Geithner guy who was confirmed on a bi-partisan Senate vote. Then there's Daschle and Killefer, two nominees with tax problems who withdrew before they were confirmed. High crimes and misdemeanors, if you ask me.
Add on top of this the fact that Obama's approval ratings now only stand in the mid to high 60s and what do you have? A failed presidency.
Don't wait for 2012. Impeach them all and replace them with real Americans.
LIMBAUGH/PALIN 2009!!!!
February 3, 2009 2:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
hee hee
February 3, 2009 2:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
You left out the wildly contentious and bruising fight over Eric Holder, resulting in a veritable squeaker of a 75 - 21 margin in his favor...
February 3, 2009 2:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh my gosh! He didn't get 95 votes? Oh, No. The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Look out. Obama is ruined. His administration is over. The republicans are taking over his administration. It's all over and it's been two whole weeks. Oh, well, time to gear up for the next presidential election in 2012. Who's your favorite to win the dem primary, as obama is finished? I like kucinich this time around. What do you think?
February 3, 2009 3:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Given what a catastrophe the Obama Administration has been, I gotta go with Joe, the Plumber...
February 3, 2009 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's a good choice. Joe the plumber in 2012. Now we only have to wait 3 years and 351 days until the end of the disasterous obama administration. What a disaster! And in two whole long weeks. Look, he accomplished nothing in that time. Nothing at all. And I was expecting all those wonderful things in two weeks. What a disappointment.
February 3, 2009 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
It was over the second it was revealed that he fathered two black children. Impeachment is the obvious next step.
Knowing Congress Republicans will try to impeach Obama at some point for something utterly ridiculous, even though the same people loudly defended Bush as the supreme ruler of the world while he was breaking laws left and right, and then half of the Democrats will go "ok, yeah, that sounds good, lets impeach" even though they never even considered impeachment for Bush.
That's pretty much how it goes right? Republicans above the law and bathing in hypocrisy, Democrats throwing each other under buses?
February 3, 2009 2:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Joke about it all you want, but Obama is getting hammered in the press lately. It's a feeding frenzy and Obama had his head in the sand.
February 3, 2009 2:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
He's been in office for 2 freaking weeks. He was elected for a four-year term. This, too, shall pass. He won the election. You can't ignore the media cycle but you also don't have to worry about winning it every day or even every week...or month. There isn't an election coming up in a month or even a year. If this were September, 2010, I'd be much more worried. But he's been in office for 2 weeks. 2 weeks.
February 3, 2009 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
It has only been two weeks, and look at the circus. It's ridiculous. The Republicans rightly smell blood. Obama's fighting all sides, the Republicans, the media, the puritanical progressives and now he's shooting himself in the foot with these nominations that are crashing and burning - Richardson, Daschle, Geithner, Lynn.
Didn't we hear about how Obama was going to learn from Clinton's mistakes, and his vetting process was second to none?
Where is No Drama Obama?
February 3, 2009 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hah!
February 3, 2009 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
They're doing wonderful things with anti-psychotic drugs these days. Ask your doctor about them.
February 3, 2009 4:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
More drama.
I guess his head was in the sand when he did the interview with Matt Lauer Sunday. He jammed it in even deeper by doing all the network interviews today.
Sometimes you sound like a perfect parrot of the conventional wisdom that cable news perpetuates.
February 3, 2009 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wouldn't call it getting "hammered". The Rev. Wright fiasco was hammered, Ayers was hammered, bittergate, hammered. All hyped up non-issues.
Sure, the press is biasing their coverage of the recovery package in favor of Republicans 2-1, but I don't think Obama has really been taking too much heat about anything.
February 3, 2009 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dr. Jeanne Lambrew would make a lot of sense.
February 3, 2009 2:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jim McDermott (i know, even more of a long shot than dean)
February 3, 2009 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
okay, dean then.
February 3, 2009 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Michael Moore is the right pick!
February 3, 2009 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is definitely a good thing, whatever the reason. Personally, I think he would have botched healthcare and we'd be waiting another 15 years to try it again. This is too important. Daschle was a horrible leader and would have failed miserably trying to sell healthcare to the GOP and the public, even without this scandal.
I expect Obama to turn right on this appointment and pick someone the left is going to hate, but who will be better able to sell the healthcare to the GOP. And we just need a few votes there. If this is the case, it will be equally important to see who he picks as the number two person at HHS to run the day to day operations.
February 3, 2009 2:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
With these resignations it just feels like the Republicans are schooling us right now.
February 3, 2009 2:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Republicans aren't schooling anybody...this is all self-inflicted. But it's also, in part, a result of Obama's committment to transparency. Yeah, Geithner got confirmed but we know all about his tax issues. Daschle and Killefer withdrew before they were confirmed. Heck, I actually think the left was making more of a stink about Daschle than the right. If this had been the Bush administration, none of these problems would have even seen the light of day. Or if they did, it would have been years later. And then Bush would stand by them and the Dems would say, "OK". And each and every member of the GOP and the right wing media would have been 100% behind whoever Bush picked - no dissent. Bush had people actively serving in his administration who violated the freaking Constitution and he still wouldn't fire them. And the wingnuts in the media defended him...and continue to defend him to this day. (even though they know say he sucked as president and was really a liberal in disguise)
February 3, 2009 2:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
I suppored Obama big time -
but it looks like he is just like the rest of them -
what with his standing by these crooks -
I give up
February 3, 2009 2:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
What? The thrashing you took on the other thread over a similar comment wasn't enough for you?
There's a bit of a bump in the road, and you run screaming for the exits.
At least you left out the part about how you're not going to defend Obama ANY LONGER TO YOUR REPUBLICAN FRIENDS!!!
February 3, 2009 2:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I know what Gibbs and Obama are saying publicly, but do you REALLY think Obama and no hand in Daschle's "decision" to withdrew? Same question re: Killefer.
And as I mentioned above, if these folks had been Bush nominees, we wouldn't have even known about these problems until it was too late...if we heard about them at all.
And may I repeat - the man has been president for 2 whole weeks. It's not like we're looking at Secretary of HHS Daschle taking gifts from an insurance company in exchange for pushing through legislation friendly to the industry. He was never even confirmed. This is what happens when you find out things about your nominees that they previously did not disclose. It's not the end of the world or proof that Obama is corrupt.
So, in other words, save it.
February 3, 2009 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
No. I don't think Obama had a hand in Daschle's withdrawal. If he wanted Daschle out, he wouldn't have spent yesterday working to shore up his support in the senate. And those senators would not have come out under the klieg lights and declared their support for him.
I think Daschle woke up this morning and found himself being trashed in the NYT, Politico, HuffPo, Salon as a scumbag, adulturer and a tax cheat and decided "fuck this shit."
I can understand. Being pulically humiliated to take a thankless public service job.
February 3, 2009 4:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Daschle gives up this easily, then he wasn't the right person for the job. And I was certainly wrong in defending him for the job.
February 3, 2009 3:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is a Facebook group advocating Howard Dean for HHS. Who else is out there who would be a good pick?
February 3, 2009 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Unreal. What a weak pussy footed coward Daschle is.
Unreal!!! What is up with this? He would have been nominated, he just gives up like this? WTF is up with that? Perhaps all the years as minority leader have left a husky shell of a fallen man, too used to defeat to recognize the triviality of the brouhaha of this brief moment in time.
February 3, 2009 4:42 PM | Reply | Permalink