Contributed by Gem Daus, a long-time health policy advocate and community leader.
“But if 30 years of exposure to the challenges inherent in our system has taught me anything, it has taught me that this work will require a leader who can operate with the full faith of Congress and the American people, and without distraction … Right now, I am not that leader.”–Tom Daschle
These are the classy yet sad words that Tom Daschle used today to withdraw his nomination to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and director of the new White House Office on Health Reform.
I am a fan of Daschle’s from his days as Senate Minority Leader when I and a multicultural team of community advocates were lobbying for action on racial and ethnic health disparities. He understood the issue coming as did from Indian country. He was able to get Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to work with us on our preferred bill. Meeting directly with him (not just his staff), and reading his book, I could tell he knew health care and, just as importantly, he knew how to move an agenda.
And he still knows.
Confirming him would have meant slogging through lots of mudslinging–in other words distraction. Many of us were willing to give him a pass, including Tommy Thompson who was HHS Secretary when Daschle was in the Senate. He said in the Washington Post (to see article, click here):
“America is the land of second chances, and given his long and distinguished tenure as a public servant, he should have been given a second chance. It would have required complete transparency — something I believe he was prepared to offer…While Tom and I do not agree on every policy issue, I believe his abilities as a leader, negotiator and health expert made him the right person for the job.”
I would have liked to see him stay and tough it out. We’ve seen worse here in DC. But, as Post Columnist Eugene Robinson points out, that’s exactly the issue.
“This is not corruption, but neither is it change we can believe in. Tom Daschle is a good guy, but he’s a creature of the system that Obama campaigned against — the system that works discreetly, in back corridors and at cocktail parties, for monied special interests. It’s not that all special interests are evil (even the health industry). It’s that this system, according to Obama, has thwarted the nation’s repeated attempts to deal with fundamental issues, such as health care. Daschle looked more like part of the problem than part of the solution.”
It’s too early in the game for people to be losing faith in Obama’s campaign promises.
Sincerely, I thank the good Senator Daschle for all his work on health reform.
FeudArt 