Dasched?

Marc Ambinder has a fairly useful Q&A on Tom Daschle's tax problems, but the title of his post, "Who knew what, and why that matters," is a little deceiving as there is plenty of the former but not really very much about the latter.

Well, I'm not sure what Ambinder had in mind, but I think it matters because as the NYT's David Kirkpatrick illustrates, Daschle's tax "woes" are a bright shining light on how things work in Washington.

WASHINGTON — Tom Daschle, the former Democratic Senate leader, had been voted out of office. His close friend Leo Hindery, a Democratic donor and media mogul, was out of a job too, having just sold his latest company, Yes Networks.

So in early 2005 the two men decided to team up. Mr. Daschle agreed to become the founding chairman of “a world-class executive advisory board” of “industry and regulatory experts” for a new investment firm run by Mr. Hindery, according to a news release announcing its inception and seeking investors. The Daschle-led board, the release said, would help provide a “collective depth of industry knowledge and expertise that will allow us to pursue unique and high-value opportunities.”

In addition to lending the prestige of his name, Mr. Daschle traveled to help raise money from investors for Mr. Hindery’s new venture, said Jenny Backus, a spokeswoman for Mr. Daschle. And in exchange, over the next four years the firm compensated Mr. Daschle with over $2 million, and Mr. Hindery lent Mr. Daschle the use of a chauffeured limousine in Washington.

Ms. Backus said that when Mr. Hindery was not in Washington he lent his car to Mr. Daschle as a favor to a friend.

The partnership has now come back to haunt Mr. Daschle, with the disclosure that he had failed to pay $128,000 in taxes on the car and driver Mr. Hindery’s firm provided him, threatening to derail his confirmation as secretary of health and human services.

Beyond the ramifications for Mr. Daschle’s ascent to the cabinet, the disclosures about Mr. Hindery and the many clients Mr. Daschle advised on public policy offers a new window into how Washington works. It shows how in just four years an influential former senator was able to make $5 million and live a lavish lifestyle by dint of his name, connections and knowledge of the town’s inner workings.

Figures that there's a connection to baseball. As longtime readers of this humble web-log ("blog") know, there always is.

But I digress. Greenwald points out that the Daschle appointment -- which I originally approved of because it seemed to show how serious Obama was in moving a plan through Congress, as opposed to the management consultant who was the downfall of the Clinton plan -- was really about Daschle's coziness with health care providers, not a passion for health care reform.

Truth is, Daschle will surely be confirmed since there isn't a senator who can't see him or herself in the exact same position somewhere down the line, when their taxes are scrutinized over their own work as a lobbyist after their Senate career is over.

Still, Obama should have realized the potential for this when he chose a lobbyist for the health care industry to lead health care reform. There are just too many gray areas around motivation, not to mention how lobbyists (or advisors if you prefer) are financially rewarded. Used his car and driver when his friend was out of town....sheesh.