Tom Daschle Should Hit the Road

It's time for tax cheat Tom Daschle to withdraw his nomination.

It's no surprise that Republicans are calling for that. Sen. Jim DeMint wants Daschle to step aside. That's to be expected.

Eventually, I think Daschle will withdraw his name.

The problem: He has to do it in a way that will allow Barack Obama to save face.

Step one in the dance choreographed by the Obama administration: The New York Times editorial.

When President Obama nominated former Senator Tom Daschle to be his secretary of health and human services, it seemed to be a good choice. Mr. Daschle, as the co-author of a book on health care reform, knew a lot about one of the president’s signature issues. As a former Senate majority leader, he also knew a lot about guiding controversial bills through Congress, where he remains liked and respected by former colleagues.

Unfortunately, new facts have come to light — involving his failure to pay substantial taxes that were owed and his sizable income from health-related companies while he worked in the private sector — that call into question his suitability for the job. We believe that Mr. Daschle ought to step aside and let the president choose a less-blemished successor.

Mr. Daschle’s tax shortfall is particularly troubling because it comes on the heels of another nominee’s failure to pay taxes due. We were not pleased when the president’s Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, admitted that he had failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in federal self-employment taxes while working for the International Monetary Fund despite having signed paperwork acknowledging the obligation.

Now we are confronted with an even larger lapse by Mr. Daschle, who failed to pay $128,000 in taxes, primarily for personal use of a car and driver provided to him by a private equity firm for which he consulted. Although the firm — headed by a major Democratic donor — had not issued a form 1099 for the value of the car service, Mr. Daschle said he became concerned last June that he might owe taxes on it and instructed his accountant to investigate. Neither was concerned enough to actually pay the taxes.

Only after the Obama transition team flagged unrelated tax issues that would require filing amended returns did Mr. Daschle and his accountant address the need to report the personal use value of the car service — more than $255,000 over three years — as income. Only after he had been chosen to be the health secretary did Mr. Daschle tell the transition team about the unpaid taxes. He paid some $140,000 in back taxes and interest on Jan. 2 to settle several tax problems — and he acknowledges owing more.

In both the Geithner and Daschle cases, the failure to pay taxes is attributed to unintentional oversights. But Mr. Daschle is one oversight case too many. The American tax system depends heavily on voluntary compliance. It would send a terrible message to the public if we ignore the failure of yet another high-level nominee to comply with the tax laws.

...Mr. Daschle is another in a long line of politicians who move cozily between government and industry. We don’t know that his industry ties would influence his judgments on health issues, but they could potentially throw a cloud over health care reform. Mr. Daschle could clear the atmosphere by withdrawing his name.

If the New York Times Editorial Board is calling for Daschle to hit the road, the end must be near for Daschle.

Just because Obama "absolutely" supports Daschle doesn't mean Daschle can survive.

Obama said that when he still thought he could get away with anything.

Those heady days of his inauguration are long gone. He's learning that at least some people know he can't walk on water.

Just as Obama initially thought he could maintain his very close ties to Jeremiah Wright, I think we've seen the same thing with Daschle.

Obama knows he has to throw out Daschle.

Daschle has to fall on his sword for Obama. I don't think he wants to do that, but the pressure will be so great that he will.