Just two short weeks into his term, President Obama manages to find the words that eluded President Bush for eight long, blunderful years:
****Obama: “I screwed up”
Obama said he was “angry and disappointed” to lose Daschle and Nancy Killefer, who also withdrew her nomination today over a failure to pay some taxes. And the president also took part of the blame. “I appointed these folks. I think they are outstanding people. I think Tom Daschle as an example could have led this health-care effort … better than just about anybody,” the president remarked. “But as he acknowledged, this was a mistake. I don’t think it was intentional on his part but it was a serious mistake. He owned up to it and ultimately made a decision that we couldn’t afford the distraction, and **I’ve got to own up to my mistake **which is that, ultimately, it’s important for this administration to send a message that there aren’t two sets of rules – you know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes.”
Obama later added,** “I’m here on television saying I screwed up, and that’s part of the era of responsibility. It’s not never making mistakes; it’s owning up to them and trying to make sure you never repeat them and that’s what we intend to do.”**
I’d like to know what makes him indispensable. Maybe it was just chronological serendipity for Geithner; Obama could survive one tax cheat appointment, but three or four have done serious political damage.
It is a nice change but these are mistakes that NEVER should have happened since he should have vetted the candidates better. When you add the three tax cheats, Richardson, Hillary, and Emanuel it smells like business as usual in Washington
The Great Unifier chose not to subject his Homies to any manner of vetting process or background check.
He waved his magic unifying wand and said 'these are my homies they are beyond reproach"
Never mnd the fact that if the ordinary American had tax obligations like those of Obama appointees dating back to 2001, their wages would have been garnsihed, bank accounts levied, property seized and lives destroyed…
…ordinary working class Americans don’t have the leisure of waiting for special favors until they pay up.
But Obama says:
“it’s important for this administration to send a message that there aren’t two sets of rules – you know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes.”
so apologizing makes things all better? If this “bailout” doesn’t “work” is he going to say, “I’m sorry for spending trillions of dollars that the next 5+ generations of Americans are going to pay for.”
**If this “bailout” doesn’t “work” is he going to say, “I’m sorry for spending trillions of dollars that the next 5+ generations of Americans are going to pay for.” **
If it doesn’t work both parties are to blame as the first $700B was on the Republican watch.
Apologizing shows that he’s capable of recognizing and admitting errors, and demonstrates his desire for sincerity and transparency with the people who elected him. I don’t know what other “things” you think he should be apologizing for.
If this “bailout” doesn’t “work” is he going to say, “I’m sorry for spending trillions of dollars that the next 5+ generations of Americans are going to pay for.”
This is uncharted territory. There is no consensus on how to fix it. As with every presidential election, we had a choice in who we trusted to lead our nation. In the midst of a global financial crisis, we chose Obama. Now he, like his predecessors, is making the kinds of decisions we entrusted him with.
***David, I trust you’ll find this as insightful to his mentality and approach to leadership as you did his inauguration day ball schedule. ***
Absolutely.
While he “accepts responsibility”, it didn’t appear to concern him enough to actually take any action. Daschle and Killefer withdrew themselves from consideration (as late as Monday afternoon Obama, when asked, still supported Daschle) and he continued to support Geithner all the way through to confirmation and apparently, still does. Of course, while he emphasized the importance of “owning up to his mistakes and trying to make sure that he never repeats them”, he doesn’t mention anything about remedying the mistakes that he acknowleges having made.
He’s obviously hoping that his words will speak louder than his actions. You’ll be pleased to hear that I *do *find that insightful.
It would be naive to think that Obama had no hand in their withdrawal, voiced “support” notwithstanding.
The mistake that was made (and apologized for) was not catching the tax issues in the vetting process - not in choosing someone incapable of performing the duties for which they were chosen. As far as remedying the situation goes, there was a glaring and consistent error in the vetting process. Do you honestly think this will continue to be a problem going forward?
It is nice to see that he can admit a mistake. Unfortunately the fact that he made the mistake speaks to his level of experience and complete reliablity on aids, or his lack of judgement.
I always felt that Daschle came out of the woodwork as a payback for a favor maybe from Biden, who knows. He’s caustic and I’m glad to see him, hopefully, take his final leave of National Politics.
The person that can’t admit they screwed up can’t change directions, that would be an admission of making a mistake.
At least I take comfort in the idea he can admit to his mistakes…now if we can only convince him that his ideas on good portion of his policy are “mistakes” we might make some progress
More seriously, definitely a breath of fresh air and like I said before the election I honestly felt both Obama and McCain were “Honorable” and decent men. Good to see that that appears to be the case.
Well said, I guess When Obama was talking about hope, maybe he meant that he hoped no one would find out about the “forgotten” taxes, or he hoped that they would pay their taxes before appointment…a bunch of crap. Man I tell ya I sure am glad to see Washington changing…
It is nice to see that he can admit a mistake. Unfortunately the fact that he made the mistake speaks to his level of experience and complete reliablity on aids, or his lack of judgement.
Out of curiosity, who are you comparing him to? Not the last guy, I hope, and certainly not the guy he ran against. I’ll give you that Bush I wasn’t making these kinds of mistakes, to me recollection.
