Despite misgivings, Tim Geithner's nomination for Treasury Secretary has been advanced out of committee. But there is fallout-- Geithner (and Obama) get hammered from the Left. Jeffrey Klein, Huffpo, "President Obama Fails his First Hard Choice":
"Tim Geithner, when I nominated him, was rightly lauded by people from both sides of the aisle, from the market, from labor, as somebody who was uniquely qualified." Obama responded when questioned about Geithner's taxes. "Is this an embarrassment for him? Yes. He said so himself. But it was an innocent mistake. It has been corrected. He paid the penalties."
Geithner didn't make one mistake. He committed multiple transgressions over the course of many years. To call them "an innocent mistake" is as insulting as deducting your kid's expensive summer away camp as a childcare expense, which Geithner tried to do. Furthermore, Geithner paid the majority of his missing taxes and penalties only after he was nominated to be Secretary of the Treasury. His situational ethics are directly at odds with the culture of personal responsibility that Obama has set as his foremost goal.
Some wry observations from the WSJ.
I would imagine both Geithner and House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel are relieved the confirmation hearings have been conducted in the Senate.
P.S. We won't hold our breath on any Dem run investigation of Charlie Rangel. And doesn't Geithner's abuse of TurboTax remind you of the Obama donations modus operandi--where his campaign had to knowingly override fraud safeguards. "Creditable" explanation yet to be forthcoming.
--crossposted at Anatreptic
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