Democrats, Obama Appointees and their Tax Problems

The surprising thing about the Obama nominees who have run into trouble so far is that they are the nominees whom--like the devil--you would least expect. When I first saw Geithner, I thought that this was a guy who wouldn't have a worry in the world during his confirmation hearings. Instead it turned out that he had $35,000 that he had failed to pay to the IRS. When I saw Richardson for the first time--several years ago now--I thought, this is a guy whom I could see being the next president; instead, he dropped out of his candidacy for Secretary of Commerce (who even knew that such a post existed before he failed to get it) after it turned out that he was involved with some shady contracting. Then there was the case of Tom Daschle. No one--and I mean no one--would have guessed that someone who had, in a past life, qualified to serve as minority leader would have forgotten to pay $100,000--enough to buy five Detroit cars--to the federal government. If the Democratic Party pays its taxes as well as its leadership does (and this is the leadership that includes, by the way, Ways and Means chairman Charlie Rangel) then this country is in grave danger from a fiscal standpoint.