Two weeks into his presidency, Barack Obama proved that even a clearly gifted politician cannot escape the gravitational pull of Washington forces that he has vowed to reform. “I screwed up,” Obama said during a series of TV interviews. “I take responsibility for this mistake.” It was a frank admission from an Oval Office where “mistakes were made” has often been the preferred dodge. An old story, with new actors, played out Tuesday: A new president's team imperfectly vetted top nominees. The nominees, it turns out, had not paid taxes for household help or other services when they were private citizens. The news media and political adversaries bored in. And rather than spend more valuable time and political capital defending the appointees, the administration dropped them and moved on. In other words, Obama isn't perfect. This may be news to his adoring supporters, but like other presidents, Obama is going to make more mistakes over the coming months as he struggles with the economy, health care, military matters and Congress. That's hardly an indictment. But Obama's rocket ride to the White House, his extraordinary speaking skills, and his smooth, I-don't-sweat style had some people calling him “the one,” a once-in-a-generation political leader who could rise above his predecessors' foibles. On Tuesday, at least, he seemed to be trying to learn from past presidents the need to quickly cut his losses. President Bill Clinton stuck with Zoe Baird, his pick for attorney general, for about 10 days after it was disclosed that she had hired illegal immigrants as workers and had failed to pay their Social Security taxes. Clinton's next choice, Kimba Wood, withdrew after acknowledging that her nanny, too, had been illegal. It was a painful start for a new presidency that Obama and his aides have studied closely. Obama has tapped many of Clinton's top advisers, including Hillary Clinton, for his own administration. But the Obama team also has tried to avoid some of Bill Clinton's early mistakes, such as waiting too long to name top appointees. Oddly, perhaps, Obama and his advisers tripped over an issue that bedeviled Clinton's early weeks: the failure to pay taxes fully and on time. At first, Obama dug in, eager to show loyalty and toughness in the face of critics. His choice for Treasury secretary – a post that oversees the Internal Revenue Service – had been required to pay $34,000 in overdue income taxes. Obama stood by Timothy Geithner, and the Democratic-controlled Senate confirmed him after comparatively gentle questioning. The stakes seemed higher, on both sides of the equation, for Tom Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader chosen by Obama to head Health and Human Services and to an overhaul of health care. Daschle had more status and clout in Washington, with many senators considering him a friend and mentor. But his money problems were bigger than Geithner's, too. Daschle belatedly paid $128,203 in taxes and $11,964 in interest. He also had been paid $5.2 million over two years by industries eager for good relations with the government. A chastened Daschle apologized in public and then in private to his old Senate colleagues, saying he was embarrassed by his mistakes. After his closed-door session with Senate Finance Committee members Monday, many senators seemed to think Daschle would be confirmed. But Republicans made it clear his ride would not be easy, something the White House could not miss. Republican Sen. John Cornyn urged Daschle to withdraw Tuesday morning, shortly before it was announced he was doing just that. “If Senator Daschle cares about President Obama's success and the success of this new administration,” Cornyn said, “he ought to remove this distraction.” Still, Daschle could have survived, several Democrats said. But a smaller, less-noticed tax problem involving another nominee was about to play out, and the combination seemed too much for the new presidency to stomach. The Associated Press had disclosed that in 2005 the District of Columbia filed a $946 tax lien on the home of Nancy Killefer, nominated by Obama to be the government's first chief performance officer, for failure to pay unemployment compensation tax on household help. Killefer withdrew her nomination early Tuesday, saying she did not want to become a distraction for the young administration. Less than three hours later, Daschle gave the same reason for withdrawing his own nomination. It was the administration's lowest point so far, which White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs could not paper over. When asked why Obama stuck with Geithner but accepted Killefer's and Daschle's withdrawals, Gibbs gave an unhelpful reply that ignored the fact that Daschle had exposed Obama to charges of hypocrisy. “Well, Mr. Geithner's gone through a process,” Gibbs said. “He's gone through Finance Committee, he's gone through the full Senate with bipartisan support.” Hours later, Obama seemed to get it: “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.”
