Daschle

I know I should write a big post about Tom Daschle and his tax problem, but I'm honestly too wevved by it all to be able to muster the energy.

I feel the same way I felt about Geithner's similar problem: I didn't like the "honest mistake" game when the Bushies played it, and I don't like it now.

And now that Geithner's been confirmed despite his "unintentional oversight," it's set a precedent in which there's no way to not confirm Daschle on this basis, except that his "unintentional oversight" has a higher monetary value. And if he's not confirmed, or withdraws, just because the number's bigger, all that says is that "unintentional oversights" that sorta look like ethical lapses are fine, as long as you don't get too greedy. Great.

Which is to say nothing of the message communicated by confirming two wealthy, straight, white men who "unintentionally oversighted" paying some of their taxes.

(And yes, I do know people genuinely miss paying taxes by accident on occasion. But most of we average dodos who make such mistakes don't generally raise red flags about it ourselves and then still not pay it and then look into it more deeply only when we're about to be scrutinized for a cabinet position, blah blah blah...)

Wev. The whole thing makes me grumpy.