Daschle

By
Bill Press                                                                          Read Spanish Version  

Politics
is a game of winners and losers. But there were no winners in Tom
Daschle’s decision to walk away from his nomination to be the next
secretary of health and human services.

President
Obama lost his trusted adviser and friend. Tom Daschle lost the
chance to lead the most important fight of his life. And Americans
lost the best qualified, most experienced and most knowledgeable
expert on universal health care to lead HHS.

But
the sad fact is, it didn’t have to happen. Daschle was too quick to
get cold feet and Obama was too quick to throw him to the wolves.
Forced to choose between a dumb mistake and a crying national need,
they made the wrong decision. It would have been far better for the
country if they had both decided to stay and fight, rather than cut
and run. And there’s no doubt that, had they hung in there, Daschle
would have been confirmed — and his tax problems soon forgotten.

Yes,
Tom Daschle made a mistake in not paying his full share of taxes. For
most of us, who do pay our taxes religiously and know how
unmercifully we’d be treated by the IRS if we goofed on our tax
returns, it’s hard to understand how someone so smart could enjoy the
services of a car and driver for three years without realizing there
was some monetary value involved, and therefore some tax
consequences. Or if Daschle didn’t, certainly his tax accountant
should have.

It’s
also true that Daschle suffered the double misfortune of being second
in line. If Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner hadn’t also had tax
problems and survived, Daschle could more easily have stuck it out.
But, post-Geithner, Daschle’s tax woes were soon seen inside and
outside the White House as one tax mess too many.

Up
against that acknowledged mistake, however, was the indisputable fact
that reforming health care, as an essential element of economic
recovery, is the most critical challenge facing President Obama —
and that Tom Daschle was the best person to lead the fight. Health
care reform was the number one cause of his years in the U.S. Senate.
He’s written the best book on it. And he helped shape the plan Obama
campaigned on as candidate for president.

In
his 2008 book, "Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care
Crisis," Daschle calls for offering all Americans the options
now enjoyed by federal employees. Consumers would be free to choose
from a long list of affordable health insurance plans, including a
government-run plan similar to Medicare. It’s not the single-payer
solution many liberals advocate, but it’s probably as close as we’ll
ever get to it. Daschle also proposes creation of a Federal Health
Board, similar to the Federal Reserve Board, which would take most
health coverage decisions out of the hands of Congress. The book’s
cover features an endorsement from none other than then-Sen. Barack
Obama: "Sen. Daschle brings fresh thinking to this problem."

To
that expertise, add Tom Daschle’s legislative skills and experience
as former majority leader of the U.S. Senate, and you realize the
enormity of the loss we all experienced when he was forced to
withdraw his name from consideration.

Of
course, we expect our elected and appointed officials to meet the
highest ethical standards. But in so doing, we must be careful of two
pitfalls. The first is unequal treatment: David Vitter used the
services of prostitutes and still serves as U.S. senator; Eliot
Spitzer did likewise and was forced out of office. Tim Geithner
didn’t pay his taxes, yet now serves in the cabinet; Tom Daschle
didn’t either, yet couldn’t get in the front door.

The
second pitfall is impossible expectations. It’s not just, as
President Obama insists, that "nobody is perfect." The
question soon becomes: Is anybody good enough to meet the test?
Clearly, we’ve set the bar too high when an honest, smart,
experienced leader like Tom Daschle doesn’t qualify for public
service. Isn’t this a classic case of the "perfect" being
the enemy of the good?

In
the end, it boiled down to a choice between a squeaky-clean person
and the best person for the job. Unfortunately, the wrong choice was
made. It’s more important to deliver quality, affordable health care
to every American than find a man or woman who never made a mistake.
And that cause of universal health care has now suffered a serious
setback.

With
47 million Americans having no health insurance whatsoever, this
country needed Tom Daschle to lead us to universal health care. We’ll
have a much harder time getting there without him.

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "Train
Wreck: The End of the Conservative Revolution (and Not a Moment Too
Soon)."
You can hear "The Bill Press Show" at his Web site:
billpressshow.com. His email address is: bill@billpress.com.
(c)
2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc.