Minor Thoughts from me to you

Democrats Affirm Support for Daschle

Senate Democrats rallied around Obama's Health nominee Tom Daschle, despite his failure to pay over $100,000 in taxes in a timely fashion.

And that, right there, is what's wrong with Washington. Last night, I heard political analysts on CNN saying that Daschle would likely be confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services because "he's really very embarrassed by this" and "it's hard to overstate just how much he's liked and respected in Washington".

Well, he's neither liked nor respected in my household. If I had "failed to pay over $100,000 in taxes in a timely manner" I'd be more than just embarrassed. I'd be on my way to prison after a high-profile prosecution by the IRS. The IRS, you may remember, is headed by tax cheat Tim Geithner.

I have two questions: 1) why do President Obama's appointees get to ignore the rule of law and escape the consequences of their inaction? 2) What happened to the change that President Obama was supposed to bring to Washington? At least President Bush's appointees set the example by paying their taxes. And, if they didn't, their nominations were withdrawn.

This is certainly change, but it isn't the change I expected.