Daschle Nomination Tests Insider's Network

Washington Post: One Of Senate's Best Connected Democrats Battles To Save His Nomination

(Washingtonpost.com)  As a Senate leader with authority over not just his personal staff but several policy and campaign committees as well, Daschle employed more than 100 people at any given time. From 1994 to 2005, even more than the Clinton White House, "the University of Daschle" was the place to learn the inner workings of governing, Baker said.

More than half a dozen Daschle veterans hold high-ranking White House positions, most notably Pete Rouse, who was his chief of staff and is now senior adviser to the president, and Phil Schiliro, Obama's legislative liaison.

Daschle-ites are also taking positions at the Agriculture Department and the Democratic National Committee. Some of his closest allies are among Obama's most trusted outside advisers, a select group whose influence comes not from a title but from a personal bond. They include John D. Podesta, the Center for American Progress president who masterminded Obama's transition; lawyer Robert Bauer; and political consultant Anita Dunn.

"The spokes of the wheel all lead to Pete Rouse," said Dunn, who has deep ties to both men. "When Pete went to work for Barack, what Barack got -- and I don't think he realized it -- was the only network in Democratic circles that from both a policy and political perspective came close to the Clinton network."

Rouse got his start in Washington in the early 1970s when he and Daschle were young aides to then-Sen. James Abourezk (D-S.D.). In 1986, he began an 18-year stint with Daschle.

When Daschle lost in 2004, he encouraged his team to sign on with Obama. Rouse agreed and eventually recruited many of Obama's top aides, including Schiliro and the husband-and-wife team Dan Pfeiffer and Sarah Feinberg.

If confirmed, Daschle will be "HHS secretary plus," said Dunn, referring to the additional role as head of the new White House Office of Health Reform, which has a small but well-situated office in the basement of the West Wing.

If Daschle were working at HHS headquarters, his "embeds," as Dunn calls them, could provide "an extraordinary level of information and access that most Cabinet secretaries don't have."

"It's a matter of him not having to go in and forge relationships," she said. "Daschle gets to deal directly with people he knows and is comfortable with."

If as HHS secretary he wanted to tweak health tax policy, his longtime chief of staff, Mark Childress, would need only pick up the phone and call former colleague Mark Patterson, Geithner's chief of staff. If there were an international health issue to resolve, Childress could contact Daschle alums Mark Lippert at the NSC and Denis McDonough on the White House staff.

And if Daschle needed assistance from Biden, he could turn to Ron Klain, the vice president's chief of staff, who oversaw the Senate Democratic Leadership Committee for Daschle in 1995. Biden was making calls on Daschle's behalf yesterday.

The Daschle hires that Obama has made are the "cream of the crop" of the Democratic establishment, Jennings said.

"People outside the Daschle orbit recognize his friendship with and influence with President Obama," he said. "It's the cumulative perceptions of his respect and influence within the administration and his former staff. Whether it's an accurate perception or not, perception is reality in Washington."

Staff writers Paul Kane and Joe Stephens and research editor Alice Crites contributed to this report.

[questionnews]

Breaking News:

Obama performance chief Killefer out, citing taxes.

WASHINGTON %u2013 Nancy Killefer, who failed for a year and a half to pay employment taxes on household help, withdrew her candidacy to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government on Tuesday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090203/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_killefer

What the he!!!?? Am I the only one paying my taxes these days??

[tibu987]

Washington Post, 02/03/09
Obama%u2019s Ethics Reform Promise Faces Early Test

By PETER BAKER
After vowing to usher in a new era of responsibility, President Obama has shown a willingness to compromise between campaign rhetoric and the realities of Washington.
***
%u201CMake no mistake, tax cheaters cheat us all, and the IRS should enforce our laws to the letter. %u201D Sen. Tom Daschle, Congressional Record, May 7, 1998, p. S4507.

Nuff said.

[tibu987]

Washington Post, 02/03/09
Obama%u2019s Ethics Reform Promise Faces Early Test

By PETER BAKER
After vowing to usher in a new era of responsibility, President Obama has shown a willingness to compromise between campaign rhetoric and the realities of Washington.
***
%u201CMake no mistake, tax cheaters cheat us all, and the IRS should enforce our laws to the letter. %u201D Sen. Tom Daschle, Congressional Record, May 7, 1998, p. S4507.

Nuff said.

[nocatnowaco]

This is a tax evasion, isn''t it? Thanks for the good people out there for bringing it up for the public to know and we all will learn. It sounds like the Democratic Party is running out of good people to run our government, how many really good that can take this job, if Tom Daschle will be confirmed into office to support "we need change", "yes we can". This reflects some double standards: What would this case be if the candidate and the party are Republican? What would happen if Daschle is just a regular citizen? What would happen if we don''t hear things at all or just see on one side?

[likeitis5050]

Time for people to stop blindly following the party lines and start kicking some political butts out of office until we get a new breed of politician - somebody who works for the people not the PACs and Party.


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Posted by gscotth

Here here!!!! Being Independent...I see beyond Party. They all have to be watched like hawks. Especially when power shifts to one party over the other...Pelosi and Reid are riding roughshod over Republicans....why? Because they can. Because it suits their obstructionist natures. Because they have their own vendettas and personal agendas to attend to....they are NO BETTER, IF NOT WORSE, THAN THE LAST 8 YEARS OF REPUBLICAN ABUSES. People have to stop being so loyal to the party and look at the behavior and what is being done in the best interest of all Americans...not just g.ays...or bankers...or animal lovers...or race car drivers...or farmers..or movie stars...or athletes...but ALL OF US.

[gwygwygwy]

I can''t hope to bring home in 3 or 4 years the amount of taxes that Mr. Daschle has "forgotten" to pay. It is people like me who make up the difference created by people like him. If Mr. Daschle could kindly write me out a check for an appropriate amount and send it to 1229 Stutz Drive NE in Albuquerque, it would surely remind him there are real people working hard all over this country that are not cheating on their taxes. It reflects poorly on the President that he so steadfastly defends him - it is an untenable position.

[likeitis5050]

Not long ago people went to jail for tax evasion (See Al Capone). Now you get appointed to positions of power. I guess it''''s not what you do, it''''s who you know.


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Posted by Questionnews

It absolutely is when it comes to politicians. And depending what party holds the most power is where the worst excuses are heard and passed into history. Oversights...for 4 years? The IRS is like the pitbull...you get notices and interest tacked on..and then threats of garnishments..but Geithner dodged them all until just before being sworn in...interesting. And Daschle...he just out and out cheated. But the irony is HE is the one caught pounding his fists and declaring ''tax cheats should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law..''...and here he stands. Going to trial? No. Going to jail? No. Going to work for Obama''s Administration? You Bet!!! It''s good to be in politics....and even better to be a Democrat.

[likeitis5050]

I think it shows a serious lack of integrity and character that Geithner and Dashchle didn''t voluntarily REMOVE themselves from the nominations...PERIOD. We already know Democrats are hypocrites when it comes ethical issues. They can ride Joe the Plumber into the ground for his MINOR IN COMPARISON tax issues, while lauding the fine qualities that NO OTHER MEN ON EARTH CAN EQUAL in admitting them into the Administration. But for the men to be so arrogant as to think a tiny bit of confrontation will blow over and then they will be picture perfect for the rest of the term? Sickening. BTW...what the he11 ever happened to all the clothes Sarah was grilled to 3rd degree burns over during the campaign...now THAT WAS HIGH CRIME, and she knew it. Unreported taxes, unpaid taxes, ignored taxes...no biggie...til it comes to me or you. Frauds..hypocrites...and it won''t end here.

[questionnews]

Not long ago people went to jail for tax evasion (See Al Capone). Now you get appointed to positions of power. I guess it''s not what you do, it''s who you know.

[opedanderson]

Obama didnt know about Rev. Wright''s sermons
Obama didnt know about the reputation of Rezko
Obama didnt know about William Ayers'' background
Obama didnt know about Blago and his escapades

And now he has hired 2 guys that didnt know about some serious tax liabilities they were carrying....

CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN!!!!!!