"Nobody's perfect"... but then they're not all Cabinet members either.

WASHINGTON – Fighting to salvage his Cabinet nomination, Tom Daschle apologized Monday for failing to pay more than $120,000 in taxes and appealed to former Senate colleagues to approve him all the same. President Barack Obama said he was "absolutely" sticking with his nominee for health secretary, and a key senator added an important endorsement.

The White House both underscored the magnitude of the problem and tried to downplay it in the space of seven words. "Nobody's perfect," said press secretary Robert Gibbs. "It was a serious mistake. ..."
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"We still think he's the best person to do health care reform and shepherd a very complicated process through Congress to achieve savings and cut costs for the American people," Gibbs said. The White House also had suggested Geithner was indispensable for the national economic revival in arguing for his confirmation despite tax problems.

Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, noted the Geithner nomination in saying she suspected tax problems would not prevent Daschle from becoming the next health secretary.

"If the guy who is overseeing the IRS can get away with a tax problem, how are you going to hold up the health and human services secretary over taxes?" she asked.

Well, I haven't done my taxes yet this year, but I am heartened that creative thinking apparently is rewarded under this new administation. (Too bad -- no kids to send off to sleepaway camp to take the childcare deduction, but using that kind of thinking...)

After Geithner squeaked through -- like this "economic recovery, deficit spending" bill which is garnering precious little critical press coverage either -- you'd think they'd be smart enough to say "Enough". (Because really, how much "change" do you suppose is going to come from corporate America frightened by strong words from ... Tim Geithner?*)

If a third tax cheat is put up at this point for a nomination, well, it's going to start to look like a pattern. Perhaps one that all American taxpayers might begin to follow (meaning, Sure I'll pay up ... once you catch me!).
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*Something about trying to enforce tax laws with unclean hands of your own...