Hope Daschled?

OK, I couldn’t resist that one.  But the real question is…does anyone in Washington bother to pay their taxes? Having just filed mine, and seeing just how much I paid, this all sets me back on my heels a bit. Apparently even the guy picked to head the Treasury Dept. (including the IRS) has problems being clear about the tax code.

Then there was the Daschle debacle.  It appears that Tom Daschle’s unusual strengths as both an elder statesman of the Senate and a serious policy wonk meant that he, more than anyone, might have been able to push through some reform. But I found his apologies and explanations completely unsatisfactory. He paid the unpaid taxes the week before he was nominated, so his claim that he had paid the taxes as soon as the “mistake” was realized falls flat. He paid the taxes when he realized that he was going to get caught. There’s a difference, and it makes your apology less than sincere.

Now it appears that Hilda Solis, President Obama’s choice to head the Department of Labor, has some issues. Apparently, Solis’ husband had $6,400 in tax liens against his business for many years, liens he paid only yesterday. She was not a partner or officer in the businesses, so frankly this shouldn’t count against her, but if it was uncovered weeks ago in the vetting process, it should have been disclosed much earlier.

Everyone gave John McCain a well deserved hard time over the lack of vetting of Sarah Palin, but Obama’s team isn’t doing much better so far.