Obama Nominee Tom Daschle Withdraws Bid for Health Secretary

It was a bad day for the Obama Administration as Tom Daschle withdrew his bid as Health Secretary Nominee due to controversy over his taxes. According to a New York Times Editorial, Tom Daschle also faced some conflicts of interest in his new role as overseer of the Health and Human Services Department.

The news of the Tom Daschle withdrawal came on the heels of the announcement that Obama nominee Nancy Killefer had also withdrawn due to tax issues. This makes the third Barack Obama nominee to come under scrutiny for their taxes: Timothy Geithner also came under fire for his tax problems, but managed to get confirmed anyway as Treasury Secretary, despite some heated opposition in the Senate.

It's been alarming lately to witness Obama nominees being truth challenged as far as things like taxes, political donors, and conflicts of interest. There seems to be some serious faults with these Obama nominees. It is also disconcerting that Barack Obama supporter Caroline Kennedy allegedly withdrew her bid for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat due to her own tax woes and problems with a house keeper. One time Commerce Secretary nominee Bill Richardson is currently under investigation for a state contract awarded to his political donors and therefore he could not serve in the Barack Obama administration.

I think this throws a spotlight on moral responsibility, greed and corruption, as a bipartisan problem. There was a great hope that by sweeping out the old Republican administration, we would see a new dawn of integrity, honesty and transparency. Yet, we are discovering Democratic elected officials who are guilty of issues like not paying their taxes. It seems that in government, the problem of dishonesty transcends party lines. It's not enough to label it a Republican or a Democratic issue anymore.

Is it too much to ask that those who serve in our government tell the truth and pay their taxes? And how could a guy who was dishonest about his taxes get confirmed as Treasury secretary anyway? We are now seeing Democratic nominees not paying their taxes, and this shows that all across the board there are problems with things like honesty from those we elect to powerful positions in government office.

Only when we come together on this issue in a bipartisan way, and demand honesty and accountability from all our elected officials, can we begin to fix the problem of greed and corruption that seems to afflict many of our elected officials.

Source:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28994296/