First Send the Limousine, Then Send in the Clowns
Administration Is Described as Being at a Loss 'There Were No Other Names,' Ally Says By Ceci Connolly Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, February 4, 2009; A09 Long before the Senate had a chance to consider his nomination to be secretary of health and human services, Thomas A. Daschle was hard at work pressing President Obama's signature domestic policy goal of revamping the U.S. health system. In private sessions in Washington and town hall-style meetings beyond the Beltway, the former Senate majority leader was assembling a team of experts, cajoling special interests and mobilizing grass-roots support for an ambitious overhaul. Yesterday, Daschle withdrew his name after acknowledging he paid $146,000 in back taxes and interest.
Now Obama must forge ahead without his close friend and Washington mentor, a setback that health experts across the political spectrum described yesterday as serious but not insurmountable. "I think Tom Daschle would have been the best person to help she…