BREAKING NEWS: Tom Daschle Withdraws His HHS Nomination After "Taxgate", Handing POTUS Barack Obama YET ANOTHER Embarrassment.

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Update: I'm sure this editorial had something to do with pushing Daschle over the edge. Read below:

The Travails of Tom Daschle

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’s financial ties to major players in the health care industry may prove to be even more troublesome as health reform efforts proceed. Like many former power players in Washington, Mr. Daschle cashed in on his political savvy and influence to earn $5 million in recent years, including more than $2 million from Alston & Bird, a law and lobbying firm; more than $2 million from the private equity firm, InterMedia Advisors, which provided the car and driver; and hundreds of thousands of dollars for speeches to interest groups, including those representing health insurance plans, medical equipment distributors and pharmacy boards.

Although Mr. Daschle was not a registered lobbyist, he offered policy advice to the UnitedHealth Group, a huge insurance conglomerate. He was also a trustee of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, on whose behalf he voiced opposition to a federal loan for a freight rail line near the clinic’s headquarters in Rochester, Minn. The loan was subsequently denied by the Federal Railroad Administration.

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.

Update #2:

When President Obama was candidate Obama he surprised pundits, time and again, with tactical and strategic moves that seemed questionable at the time, but ultimately worked out for him. That is not the case with Tom Daschle, a bottom-feeding hustler with hands so dirty that carbolic acid would not clean them up. And the nature of insider Washington is demonstrable even in those who criticize Daschle - because all they are criticizing, mostly, is this business about whether he should have paid more taxes on a car service, or whatever.

When it comes to Daschle, that mess is too small to mention. His real transgressions, having made him known as one of the premier whores on K street, has to do with his trading influence for millions and millions of dollars in fees, and having been a puppet for the bloodsuckers most closely affiliated with the healthcare industry. We defer to columnist Glenn Greenwald in summing up Daschle. "He embodies everything that is sleazy, sickly, and soul-less about Washington. It's probably impossible for Obama to fill his cabinet with individuals entirely free of Beltway filth -- it is extremely rare to get anywhere near that system without being infected by it -- but Daschle oozes Beltway slime from every pore."

Greenwald is given to understatement, but still did an adequate job. Obama should withdraw the Daschle nomination himself, not have Daschle bow out. And, given his gift for candor, Obama should also acknowledge that every president picks some losers for his cabinet (recently, most especially) and that Daschle was his big "whoopsie!" At least, we hope that title can't go to anyone else. A final note: You know why neither Republicans nor Democrats are really whacking Daschle for his belly-to-belly coziness with powerful interest groups? Sure you do. Just think about it.