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I chuckled when people lamented the Tom Daschle's decision not to be Obama head health guru in his fight for a more workable, affordable health care system. I mean, wasn't this the guy who folded like a lawn chair while Bush 41's Supreme Court was handing over the presidency to Bush 43 ? It that light, this does not surpise me in the least : In an attempt at bipartisanship, three former majority leaders of the U.S. Senate, Tom Daschle, Howard Baker, and Bob Dole, offered their solution today to the biggest obstacle to achieving health care reform -- a public option. "While I feel very strongly that consumers should have the choice of a national, Medicare-like plan, my colleagues do not. . . But we were concerned that the ongoing health reform debate is beginning to show signs of fracture on the public plan issue, so in order to advance the process of developing bipartisan legislation and to move it forward, it's time to find consensus here," Daschle said. ...

Tom Daschle may be a good guy, but he should have paid his damn taxes . On the one hand, he should have to withdraw under such circumstances. On the other: Obama ran on change, and having (too many) people who've made the same old mistakes and fuck-ups are just going to give the Defenders of the Status Quo the ammunition they need to say, " See? We told you he was just as bad as us !" Nip it in the bud.