By JONATHAN MARTIN & CRAIG GORDON
With President Barack Obama’s talking like the new sheriff of Wall Street this week, it seems like just the kind of thing he’d rail against – a rich political insider who doesn’t pay taxes on his limousine. Except that in this case, it’s Obama’s nominee for health and human services secretary, Tom Daschle. The White House said Saturday that Obama remains committed to Daschle’s nomination. A West Wing official twice stressed that Obama is dedicated to enduring the fallout—now the second politically embarrassing case of a high-level appointee failing to pay taxes. “Every nomination has bumps along the road but they handle it,” said this official. Sources close to Daschle said they’ve gotten reassurances from the White House that Obama was not wavering. “They knew it was coming and they’d have to take a hit”—and in this case, “a bad first-day hit”—said a person familiar with Daschle’s thinking.
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With President Barack Obama’s talking like the new sheriff of Wall Street this week, it seems like just the kind of thing he’d rail against – a rich political insider who doesn’t pay taxes on his limousine. Except that in this case, it’s Obama’s nominee for health and human services secretary, Tom Daschle. The White House said Saturday that Obama remains committed to Daschle’s nomination. A West Wing official twice stressed that Obama is dedicated to enduring the fallout—now the second politically embarrassing case of a high-level appointee failing to pay taxes. “Every nomination has bumps along the road but they handle it,” said this official. Sources close to Daschle said they’ve gotten reassurances from the White House that Obama was not wavering. “They knew it was coming and they’d have to take a hit”—and in this case, “a bad first-day hit”—said a person familiar with Daschle’s thinking.
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