Report: Obama Picks Daschle For Health And Human Services
Tom Daschle, who suffered a major downfall when he went from being Senate Democratic Leader to losing his own seat in 2004, is now enjoying a comeback of sorts -- Barack Obama has reportedly tapped Daschle to be his new Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Daschle has accepted.
Daschle became an Obama ally right after Obama's election to the Senate in 2004, with top former Daschle staffers going to work for Obama's Senate office and Daschle himself endorsing Obama for president very early on in 2007.
Politically, Daschle seems to be a safe and non-controversial choice. Another name that was much-discussed for the post was Howard Dean, due to his having been a medical doctor and a governor who took an intense interest in health care. But Dean might have encountered a bit more friction in working with Congress, thanks to his role as DNC chairman and his reputation -- fair or not -- for being a divisive figure.
Thank you. I'm just glad someone outside the Clinton domain was offered a position. Nothing against Clintons, but it would be nice to see someone else.
Am I right in assuming Daschle didn't work in the Clinton WH?
November 19, 2008 12:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
He was in the Senate during the Clinton years.
November 19, 2008 12:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
He was alive during the Clinton years!
What happened to Change?!
November 19, 2008 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah really. I mean, he should be hiring people straight out of high school. That would be real change. I'm through with Obama.
November 19, 2008 12:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hee hee.
November 19, 2008 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
If this is true, IMO, the progressive community will be happy. The only two appointments that I like so far is: Eric Holder and Tom Daschle. The two appointees are progressive to the core. Tom will be good with Health Care while Eric will be good in reversing all those Bush draconian laws.
November 19, 2008 12:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I like Emanuel's appointment as well. I think competency will supersede ideology in Obama administration.
November 19, 2008 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
People who can spell "supersede" correctly are few and far between. You are truly a great American. :-)
November 19, 2008 12:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ironically I'm among those who frequently display the need for a word processor.
But thanks. :)
Posted by kash79
November 19, 2008 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd have to agree with you on Emmanuel's Pick. I like his bluntness...he is the right person for the job. Have you seen his WSJ CEO Conference interview? He laid the “Daga” down yesterday …Daga, in Nigeria, means sharp knife.
November 19, 2008 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
It warmed the cockles of my heart!
November 19, 2008 12:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am glad it did
November 19, 2008 12:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
what makes you think that?
holder wont look to change anything bush has done.
he was one the bushes most vocal supporters.
hes a disgrace.
November 19, 2008 4:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
I mentioned my dismay at all the Clintonites to my Republican spouse, assuming he would hop of the bandwagon. He didn't. He said, "would you rather have a bunch of unqualified cronies, likes we have now or people who were young enough to cut their teach in a real administration".
This comment gave me pause.
Something to consider.
November 19, 2008 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
"according to a Democratic source close to Daschle"
I don't see why this part wasn't included.
November 19, 2008 12:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
you would be correct. he was in the senate from 1986 until his defeat by John Thune in 2004. Was minority leader in early 2000s.
November 19, 2008 12:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder if Obama will announce ANY of his selections before the media reports "based on sources close to..."
November 19, 2008 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's very hard to keep anything like this from leaking when you have FBI types running around and interviewing everybody who knows the prospective nominee. The vetting process here is very public.
November 19, 2008 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's near impossible to avoid leaks when you're consulting the senate for confirmations and calling nominee-staff for vetting.
November 19, 2008 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ok. To me I can see a great team shaping up here to shepherd health care through the Congress and make sure all the rules and regs are right, once that legislation passes.
My dream team here is coming into focus. I'd love to see HRC and Kennedy collaborating on that. With Daschle heading up the implementation of it!
Ok, major prayers ascending!
November 19, 2008 12:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Forget Daschle, Obama Makes His GOP Cabinet Choice: Barney the Dog
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=4888
November 19, 2008 12:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
At DHS??
November 19, 2008 12:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not so sure that I'm buying the argument that Howard Dean "may have encountered a bit more friction in working with Congress" than Tom Daschle. As former Senate Majority leader, I imagine that Daschle has had his share of friction with members of Congress.
November 19, 2008 12:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
The "friction" comment is an imprecise one. Daschle has the background to get things pushed through Congress. Unfortunately, that's something the good doctor lacks.
If Pres. Obama wants to move major health care legislation, he'll need someone who has good knowledge of the Hill, and that's missing from Dean's considerable skill set. Daschle, as a former Senator, has floor privileges, institutional knowledge, etc.
I can't imagine that Dean won't be treated very well by the Administration, but they probably decided that this wasn't the role for him at this time.
November 19, 2008 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama is putting a team in place that will go down in history as competent. Obama is going to make George Bush and Bill Clinton looks bad.
November 19, 2008 12:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
We know he has the potential for Greatness. And I think we're seeing the foundations being laid. It's like being present at the "creation" of something really amazing and wonderful.
Ok, I'm a realist too. But I'm enjoying every bit of happiness I can find after these 8 terrible years... and 40+ years in the wilderness before that.
November 19, 2008 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
No one can make Bush look worse than he already does for himself. Yesterday, he said something that wasn't completely moronic, and I was shocked. It was a joke, but it was competently funny (and I have never used the word competent before in describing Bush):
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2008/11/bush-on-holiday.html
November 19, 2008 12:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
A 10% increase? That'll have the airlines quaking in their wheel wells.
November 19, 2008 12:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, kind of tiny. I was refering to this quote:
November 19, 2008 2:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
I mean, the president used irony folks! The President!!
November 19, 2008 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I know. I switched tracks on ya.
November 19, 2008 2:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
How will he make Clinton look bad? Obama is choosing many of Bill's former advisors and Cabinet members for his own Administration. If anything this shows Bill did something right.
Stop hatin' on the Big Dawg!
November 19, 2008 12:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I do not hate on the big dawg. I still love him, though; i disagree with his politics during the primary.
The mere fact that he, Obama, is not making the same mistakes Clinton made in the '90s makes Obama look good
November 19, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have confidence PE Obama will do well, but I'd suggest we let him take office at least before measuring his presidency against 8 years of the Clintons.
November 19, 2008 1:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
That’s different. I thought we were on day -62 of the failed Obama administration.
November 19, 2008 2:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hear ya', just wanted to point out that the Big Guy had some pretty smart people around him, who know how to operate in Washington. I think that's why O is pickin' 'em.
November 19, 2008 1:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Senator Daschle is a fine choice.
Governor Dean certainly has the credentials to head the agency. I hope that a significant role can be found for the Governor.
His legacy will become more apparent as time moves on. He can certainly take credit for the engagement of the Democratic base and the 50 State Strategy.
November 19, 2008 12:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why didn't he stay on as the head of the DNC? I thought that he was awesome in that job. Any ideas? I wish that he was still there.
November 19, 2008 12:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree. Chuck Todd made a very good point on MSNBC. One way Obama can appease his base- who are annoyed at the Lieberman outcome and may not embrace Hillary as SoS- nominate someone who is popular and liked.
Dean is definetly popular figure among the base.
November 19, 2008 12:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oops. Mean to respond to RedMolly below.
November 19, 2008 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
The role of DNC Chair changes when the party is in power. Without the White House, there is a power vacuum for party policy and agenda. This is where Governor Dean excelled. He stayed away from the policy debates and strengthened the party apparatus.
The most controversial thing the Governor did was strip Michigan and Florida's delegates. He made sure everyone played by the rules and then delivered an up & running 50-state operation to the Democratic nominee. Senator Obama had created the same structure internally, but if Senator Clinton had won, she would have been handed a complete, nation-wide field operation.
Now that we have a President, the party's agenda will come from the West Wing, not the DNC.
Dr. Dean has accomplished his mission. HHS would have been a good spot, but we'll see what Senator Obama has planned. He is smart enough to put the right people in the right places.
November 19, 2008 12:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks. But wouldn't he still have some major influence and an important job as DNC chair under obama? His organizing skills, along with obama's, were amazing and good for the party.
November 19, 2008 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would really like to see Governor Dean in a prominent role in the administration, somewhere. He's to the right of my own personal political views, but I admire his intelligence and vision, and the willingness of many to dismiss him as a loose cannon or a lightweight has always irked me.
But Daschle is indeed a good choice. A good man (and a better Senate leader than, oh, someone whose name I won't mention but whose initials are Harry Reid), and one who deserves to be back on the scene.
November 19, 2008 12:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
whose initials are Harry Reid....LOL!
I keep waiting for Reid to demonstrate the strong leadership skills people claim he has. Maybe 6 months down the road, if another Senator whose name I won't mention, but who is my very own extra special Senator, hasn't been seen or heard on any Sunday chat show, or Fox News, I'll begin appreciate teh totally awesome job Reid is doing.
November 19, 2008 12:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think Daschle is a great choice. Health care will be a signature issue. Daschle knows how to work with the Congress. That is going to be important.
November 19, 2008 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
"But Dean may have encountered a bit more friction in working with Congress, thanks to his role as DNC chairman and his reputation -- fair or not -- for being a divisive figure."
Anything to back that up?
November 19, 2008 12:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Of course not.
November 19, 2008 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sources close to Washington D.C. leaked the divisive part.
November 19, 2008 12:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm a big Dean fan from way back, but it's a fact that Dean won the DNC chairmanship by building a base of support among the state parties, to the dismay of the DC power structure. He then further pissed them off by being spectacularly right about most things when they were wrong.
The fact that Dean was right so much of the time argues for giving him an important role in the administration, but it's not unfair to make the point that in a role involving a lot of work with Congress to pass important but difficult initiatives, his past success might work against him.
November 19, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good point about Dean.
One of my gripes about Rahm Emmanuel is that he was so opposed to the 50 state strategy. His political judgment was just plain wrong. And now, even Republicans are pointing out what an excellent strategy that was. Somehow, I don't imagine Dems would want to be reminded, by the sheer presence of Dean, just how wrong most of them were and how right he was.
November 19, 2008 1:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not saying I don't agree with your assessment on the HD's history, but none of that means that he was rejected because of it, let alone was being considered for the job in the first place.
It's all gossip and second guessing.
And, if there is any substantial proof to prove otherwise (links to articles proving, not guessing/gossiping about it, would help).
November 19, 2008 1:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama doesn't seem like a person to leave loose ends. I'd expect he already has something in mind for Howard Dean. All will be revealed in time.
November 19, 2008 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sounds like an oracle. True words of wisdom.
November 19, 2008 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ironically I'm among those whp frequently display the need for a word processor.
But thanks. :)
November 19, 2008 12:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
who :)
November 19, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
the only thing about daschle that bugs me is his pivotal role in getting dems to support the iraq catastrophuck.
November 19, 2008 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I bet he regretted that fiasco. Here is what I envision will happen in the nest four to Eight years. Hillary Clinton will deliver two states solution in Middle East, Tom Daschle will deliver Health Care Reform; Eric Holder will bring sanity back to Justice Department; Bill Richardson, if selected for Energy, will deliver fuel efficiency car and better energy policy; Paul Vocker and the rest of economic team will bring sensible transparency and regulation to capital market; Danzig will return CIA to its normal place; Hagel, if selected to Defense, will return Defense to its right place. No more pre-emptive war or phony issue like that. Susan Rice will be a good National Security Adviser, perhaps, a good UN ambassador.
November 19, 2008 12:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
And everyone gets a pony!
November 19, 2008 12:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Damn. I was promised a unicorn.
November 19, 2008 12:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
lol...
November 19, 2008 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Senators are OK, but we could use a few more governors in cabinet positions. These jobs are largely administrative. You have to be a good manager to carry out the presidents policies.
November 19, 2008 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great choice! The selection represents a break from the Clinton appointees.
November 19, 2008 12:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
More importantly, the selection represents a possible break for at least a day from the right-wing media talking-point that anyone who served in the Clinton administration somehow represents more of the same and no possibility of change.
November 19, 2008 1:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly.
November 19, 2008 1:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Who cares what the right wing media says, or if anyone else has their panties in a bunch? The guy has been President for negative 60+ days, for goodness sakes.
November 19, 2008 1:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Snippet from article/blog Daschle wrote for HuffPo in March 2008-
Full article here - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-tom-daschle/progressive-solutions-to-_b_89590.html
November 19, 2008 12:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good supplement in the conext. Nice work Jonze.
November 19, 2008 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
That guy is the perfect person for the Job. He has thought deeply about the issue of health care. I wonder what Ezra Klein will be thinking right now.
November 19, 2008 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm beginning to feel faint here from so much hope!
November 19, 2008 1:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Federal Reserve Board ? A bad analogy given the state of banking industry today ?
November 19, 2008 1:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder if, in their first private meeting in the White House, Obama's first words were:
George, fist things first. I've got to thank you for setting the bar so low. Second, do you have some tissue, I think I stepped in Barney's mess coming in.
November 19, 2008 12:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Priceless!
November 19, 2008 1:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Smith Barney.
November 19, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
About "setting the bar" so low...
In comparison, everything Obama does is going to look good.
I think we should keep that in mind before we talk about his "greatness", or how much better he's handling things than the last Democratic President.
November 19, 2008 1:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can hardly stand it already! Lookin' so good....
November 19, 2008 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
The opportunity to raise the bar is what's most exciting to me. Every president since Nixon has damaged the Office. The Bush Disaster is the most colossal fuckglomerate, so the difference I'm experiencing with Obama is mind-blowing.
Once we recalibrate our expectations (yes, I still get a rush every time Our Man speaks) we'll be in a better position to judge Greatness with the perspective of history, not just the overwhelming relief of escaping the 8-year nightmare.
We face a national and global crisis; we have a president who has a clear vision, outstanding leadership skills, ability to choose highly qualified people to do their parts, and the ability to organize and manage highly complex systems. These are the ingredients for Greatness.
I believe part of our job is to create the expectation of Greatness from our new president and his administration. We need Greatness right now. I expect it will happen and am fully ready to be amazed and do my part. What a fantastic time to be alive.
November 19, 2008 1:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think we're too biased, frankly, by the Bush experience to objectively evaluate Obama's actions at this point.
For example, the fact that he speaks in complete sentences thrills me. He's so thoughtful! So coherent! And while I'm enjoying the thrill, and I'm following his maneuvers far more closely than any other President-elect, the fact that mere speaking in complete coherent sentences is exciting is, well, kind of sad.
November 19, 2008 1:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Agree that we are too biased at present to judge the president-elect's Greatness. Also agree that our bar is, well, below ground at this point.
But we haven't completely lost it. The bar is quickly raising and will keep going up hopefully for the duration of his 8 years in office.
So let's set our sights on Greatness. We're not too far gone; we can accomplish amazing things. We will accomplish amazing things. We have to.
November 19, 2008 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
We could certainly use some greatness, but I think it’s unfair to place that expectation on Obama from the start. I doubt anyone was running around claiming that Lincoln or FDR was going to be a great President before he even took office.
At this point, let’s work for honesty and competence . If we get that, greatness will take of itself.
November 19, 2008 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
That cat is out of the bag! Too late to put it back! Besides we're having fun here. Do not deny us some satisfaction after years of misery! Reality is all around us. We're not nuts. But we
are milking every good and hopeful sign while we can.
November 19, 2008 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I didn't hear very much discussion about Dean. Talk about hagiography ...I think that with yesterday's Liebermanning from Dean, we've pretty much heard the last Scream
November 19, 2008 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good point on MSNBC...put Rahm's comments that health care has priority with a health care expert like Daschle and that means O's goin to fix our health care system right out of the box...also means Hillary to State...too many other big fish in the health pond
November 19, 2008 1:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hillary has to be signed, sealed and delivered to State with AG and now HHS filled. Defense and Treasury are likely going to go to men, meaning if Hillary wasn't SOS there would be no women at the top of the cabinet food chain. Outside of Hillary, other than the Susan Rice longshot, all other SOS contenders have been men - Kerry, Richardson, Hagel, Lugar, Holbrooke.
November 19, 2008 1:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Unfortunately, I believe that you are correct. That's one of the reasons why I was not happy that Napolitano didn't get AG.
November 19, 2008 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can we get a new picture of Daschle, where he doesn't look like he's in a Levitra commercial?
November 19, 2008 1:33 PM | Reply | Permalink