By nominating folks like Daschle and Tim Geithner to his cabinet, it's obvious President Obama seeks competence above all else...much to the chagrin of those further to the political left than myself, who want non-government types installed in key posts.
Problem is, George W. Bush's administration was filled to overflowing with incompetent hacks (I mean...a horse-lawyer as head of FEMA...come on!!), and the result is one of the biggest messes any presidential successor has had to clean up. And that clean up requires people of stature in cabinet level posts, who know how to make the wheels of government work. When candidate Obama talked about change on the campaign trail last year, that is what he spoke of...that is what he meant.
Competence.
That said, while I sincerely believe that the shitty "gotcha" bullshit we throw at government appointees (from either Republican or Democratic presidents) has to stop at some point, the illusion of competence in the White House might have been hindered by the little mini-scandal that brought down Daschle.
Better that he dropped out, I guess. But now, who does the President nominate for the position?
Update: George Packer makes an excellent point:
You can’t usher in a shining period of good government by fudging your principles when it matters—with those closest to you. If a Republican President were to do the same thing, Democrats would be crying hypocrisy. They shouldn’t keep quiet when the hypocrisy is on their side.
For Obama, it’s especially important not to have a double standard. A lot of his influence in cleaning up the corruptions of the private sector will be rhetorical. To do what needs to be done with Wall Street, he’ll need all the moral authority he can muster. If he allows two tax cheats into his cabinet, he’s going to lose a portion of it before his Presidency is one month old.
