Sen. Orrin Hatch (Republican-UT) has stated these are non-issues and that he intends to support Geithner's appointment; and the Obama team, apparently in-the-know that this might become a problem, was ready with a statement:
The President-elect chose Tim Geithner to be his Treasury Secretary because he's the right person to help lead our economic recovery during these challenging times. He's dedicated his career to our country and served with honor, intelligence and distinction. That service should not be tarnished by honest mistakes, which, upon learning of them, he quickly addressed. He made a common mistake on his taxes, and was unaware that his part-time housekeeper's work authorization expired for the last three months of her employment. We hope that the Senate will confirm him with strong bipartisan support so that he can begin the important work of the country.It seems to me that some Republicans, stinging from two consecutive decisive defeats, one of which lost them the White House (and they REALLY hate losing the presidency), are more than willing to re-fight some of the political games of the 1990s. They would do well to remember two things: 1. These aren't the 90s. While he won the popular vote by a comfortable margin in 1992, Bill Clinton still only received 43% of the vote against the first Bush and Ross Perot. Thus, with 57% of Americans voting against him, Clinton didn't enter office with any sort of mandate, and the Republicans pounced. 2. In 2009, America finds itself buried under the rubble of eight years worth of economic incompetence under Republican leadership. In overwhelming numbers, a sold majority hired Barack Obama to right the ship of state, and essentially told the GOP that they have to sit this one out. Any Republican (or Democrat, for that matter) who plays these partisan games from 1993 should be dismissed outright.
