Tom Daschle Withdraws As Health Nominee

Although I thought Daschle was a good choice to lead the Health and Human Services Department, I think it was a good idea for him to withdraw. He just has such hideous glasses. Plus, it was just too big of a distraction for the young Obama administration:

Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination on Tuesday as President Obama’s nominee to lead the Health and Human Services Department, a decision that came one day after Mr. Obama declared that he would stand behind Mr. Daschle as problems over unpaid taxes were scrutinized on Capitol Hill.

“I accept his decision with sadness and regret,” Mr. Obama said in a statement.

The decision to withdraw his nomination as a member of the Obama cabinet comes as the White House battled across several fronts on Tuesday with tax problems of the president’s top political appointees. Mr. Daschle had expressed regret for not paying about $140,000 in back taxes, but on Monday vowed to press ahead.

The move came as a surprise on Capitol Hill, where Democratic senators had rallied behind Mr. Daschle. It is the highest-level political casualty of the young Obama administration.

“Now we must move forward,” Mr. Obama said in a statement.

Mr. Daschle, a former Senate Democratic leader who had been a political mentor to Mr. Obama and whose longtime aides now hold key positions in the White House, said he would not have been able to lead a reform of the nation’s health care system “with the full faith of Congress and the American people.”

“I am not that leader,” Mr. Daschle said, “and will not be a distraction.”