The news of Daschle's withdrawal shocked his Democratic colleagues

Obama on Daschle: I take responsibility. By Josh Gerstein
Politico, Feb 03, 2009

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The news of Daschle's withdrawal shocked his Democratic colleagues, many of whom had vowed to fight for his nomination.

"It's a big loss for the country," said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND.).

Conrad called Daschle "one of the most honest men" he had ever known, but said it was a case where "the story never caught up with headlines."

"I think it"s a tragedy," said a visibly irate Conrad.

"I wish Tom Daschle had not decided to withdraw his nomination," Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said in a statement. "While Tom’s decision is a reminder of his loyalty to President Obama and his determination not to be a distraction, this was no ordinary appointment and today is not a good day for the cause of health care reform."

Obama told NBC Tuesday afternoon that the twin withdrawals made him "angry and disappointed and it's something I have to take responsibility for. I appointed these folks."

The distraction Daschle referred to was the mounting furor over his tax problems - a controversy that threatened to become a permanent blot on Obama's promise to clean up Washington's ethical quagmire. The White House appeared to have the votes to confirm Daschle in the Senate- but seems to have made the judgment that there were larger forces at play, forces that could bring long-term harm to the young administration.

Baucus said Daschle's withdrawal was "surprising" and "unfortunate."

"I just learned of it 15, 20 minutes ago," Baucus said. "I was a little surprised. I thought he was going to get confirmed. He's a good man. I thought he'd be confirmed."

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The issue for Obama was one of credibility. The new president ran and won as a reform candidate, promising a new brand of politics. The day after being sworn in, he immediately put in place what he touted as far-reaching ethical reforms. But Obama quickly granted exceptions to his purportedly hard-line ban on lobbyists serving in his administration and is now offering explanations as to why it is acceptable for two of his top cabinet officers to serve despite failing to pay taxes.

These issues threaten to divert Obama from his focus on rejuvenating the economy and are prompting questions from otherwise political allies on his commitment to changing the political culture of the capital. Obama is not just getting flak from predictable political opponents: the Daschle nomination was savaged Tuesday morning by the New York Times editorial page and has also been criticized by the Nation magazine, a touchstone of Democratic liberalism.

On MSNBC, Andrea Mitchell said she had just spoken with Daschle - who said that when he read the New York Times this morning, he realized he could never pass health care reform if he was such a distraction.

Killefer's decision to step down also seemed a result of the mounting drumbeat of criticism of the new Obama team. “Said a Senate source of Killefer: "She has nanny tax problems that may not have been insurmountable on their own, but given the Geithner and Daschle cumulative effect, she had to withdraw.”

Gibbs said Daschle and Killefer came to the realization that their mistakes would be seen as tarnishing Obama’s mandate for change. “I think they both recognize that you can’t set a standard of responsibility but set a different example in who serves,” he said.

Obama ignored a shouted question Monday morning from CNN’s Ed Henry after a White House ceremony announcing the selection of Sen. Judd Gregg as Commerce Secretary as to why so many administration appointees are having tax troubles.

John Bresnahan, Carol E. Lee, Jonathan Martin and Manu Raju contributed to this story.