Daschle
It doesn’t come as a shock to see that Tom Daschle will be tapped as HHS Secretary. The more interesting news is the notion that Daschle “will also reportedly be given a policy portfolio that stretches beyond the department in order to help shepherd health-care reform legislation in 2009.”
Needless to say, it makes a ton of sense to ask a former Senate Majority Leader to lend a hand on doing legislative work rather than thinking of him primarily as someone to run the HHS bureaucracy. I don’t, however, think you normally see roles formally designated in that matter, but it seems smart to do it. Of course the HHS bureaucracy is actually really big and important so this makes it important that the people around Daschle be well-suited to running the shop.
23 Responses to “Daschle”
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November 19th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Good pick.
I thought he was too wimpy as Senate Majority Leader in a time of close majorities, but he’s just what the doctor ordered for getting this done.
November 19th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
When Daschle was in the Senate I heard he wore a rug? True?
November 19th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I don’t think that he did a very good job with healthcare reform or really anything when he was Senate Majority Leader. I read part of his book on healthcare, and he totally dismisses the actual effective solution — single-payer in about two sentences.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
It doesn’t come as a shock to see that Tom Daschle will be tapped as HHS Secretary
I think you mean to say it doesn’t come as a shock that Daschle will get a major post in the Obama administration, given how close he is to Obama. But there’s nothing in Daschle’s background to suggest he’s got any particular expertise when it comes to health care, nor has he any major background in running a large bureaucracy like that of HHS. So really, what makes Daschle a natural fit for this, other than “here’s a guy Obama owes a spot for, and all the other slots are taken up by Clinton cronies”?
As far as his legislative experience, Daschle was a disaster as majority leader, worse than even Reid and Pelosi. His instinct leads him to capitulate time and again on every single fight. The positive spin on Rahm Emanuel was “he’s a corporate right-wing stooge, but he’s a fighter!” Well, Daschle’s a corporate right-wing stooge and also a wimp. Throw in Clinton at State and Summers at Treasury and it seems pretty clear that the common element here isn’t who’s a “fighter,” but who’s a corporate-friendly DLC stooge.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
The best I can comment is: “we shall see.” Daschle was an unremarkable cream puff in the Senate. I’ll also point out the regrettable fact that all of the Dems have been milquetoast creampuffs for the better part of 8 years now. So there’s no indication that Dashcle knows how to ram through tough legislation, or that he’s all of a sudden going to become a different person in order to get this done. I hate to say it, but Obama’s biggest decisions so far are not inspiring me. They’re too safe. But I’ll refrain from deeper criticism until we see what Obama’s legislation — any legislation — looks like once it is passed.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I hate to say it, but Obama’s biggest decisions so far are not inspiring me.
No shit.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Daschle has a great working knowledge of the Indian Health Service, one of HHS’ most neglected agencies. He’s possibly the only person worthy of the post who does. It’s this reason alone I think he’s exciting as a nominee.
November 19th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Any senate leader who doesn’t really have a working majority is going to look like a wimp. Daschle had 50 Democrats+Jeffords, but he had to work with the likes of John Breaux and Zell Miller (who IIRC got a 0% liberal rating from Americans For Democratic Action, even Lieberman gets above 50% most of the time). I don’t know what parliamentary skills have to do with running HHS anyway
By the same token, Harry Reid will seem like a much more effective leader now that there are at least 58 democrats in the causus.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:24 am
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December 16th, 2008 at 6:01 am
When Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) switched from Democrat to independent in 2006, Democrats needed him to remain in their caucus to control the Senate with 51 votes. Yet many Democrats openly disdained Lieberman for championing the war in
December 16th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has been a close adviser to Barack Obama throughout the Illinois senator’s campaign for the White House and will now be working for Obama with former Senate majority leaders on
December 16th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Washington - Former President Bill Clinton has offered several concessions to help his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, become secretary of state, people familiar with the presidential transition process said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a
December 16th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
It looks like John McCain has won Missouri — the last state not marked in either red or blue on the electoral map. The Missouri Secretary of State’s office said Tuesday night the Arizona Republican led President-elect Barack Obama by
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