Reporting from Washington — The withdrawal of Tom Daschle's nomination Tuesday as secretary of Health and Human Services reflected White House recognition that his tax problems were igniting anger over an apparent double standard: that Washington insiders could be careless about their taxes while ordinary Americans had to sacrifice.
As late as Monday night, the former Senate Democratic leader thought he could survive the disclosure that he only recently paid about $140,000 in back taxes. But by Tuesday morning, the mood had changed.
Coming after Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner's admitted failure to meet his own tax obligations, Democratic senators and administration allies began expressing concern to the White House about Daschle's ability to weather the criticism and remain an effective leader on healthcare reform.
The concern was all the greater because Nancy Killefer, who was to head President Obama's new office devoted to improving government performance, acknowledged that she had not paid employment taxes for a household employee and withdrew her appointment.
The groundswell had been building outside Washington for days. Late last week, bloggers sympathetic to Obama began criticizing Daschle on the back taxes, as well as on his ties to the pharmaceutical industry and others with stakes in healthcare legislation.
Obama, seeking to turn attention back to his economic stimulus plan, moved quickly Tuesday to take responsibility for the Daschle imbroglio.
"I've got to own up to my mistake, which is that ultimately it's important for this administration to send a message that there aren't two sets of rules. You know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes," Obama said in an interview on NBC News.
"And so I'm frustrated with myself, with our team. . . . And I'm here on television saying I screwed up, and . . . part of the era of responsibility is not never making mistakes, it's owning up to them and trying to make sure you never repeat them, and that's what we intend to do."
Obama had entrusted Daschle with his most ambitious domestic priority: reducing the cost and expanding the scope of healthcare coverage.
Even before Obama was sworn in, Daschle was traveling around the country to build support for the incoming president's plans.
