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Daschle will reportedly lead HHS

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor November 19, 2008 02:07 PM

President-elect Barack Obama's office announced this afternoon that Tom Daschle, the former US senator who was a key early backer, will oversee a transition policy working group on healthcare.

But several media outlets are reporting that Daschle's role will extend into the new administration as health and human services secretary.

Daschle, first elected to the US House from South Dakota in 1978, moved up the Senate in 1986 and eventually became the Democratic leader. He is a fellow at the Center for American Progress, one of the most important Democratic-leaning think tanks in Washington, and is co-chairman of the ONE Vote ’08 Campaign to address health and poverty in the developing world in a more aggressive and successful way.

He was instrumental in providing credibility to Obama's longshot bid for the Democratic nomination. But there's one potential hiccup -- Daschle's wife is a lobbyist in Washington, and Obama has promised to lessen their influence.

UPDATE: The Republican National Committee quickly panned the pick as more of the same instead of the change that Obama promised.

"Barack Obama is filling his administration with long-time Washington insiders. Since losing his Senate seat, Tom Daschle has worked for a major lobbying firm. For voters hoping to see new faces and fewer lobbyist-connections in government, Daschle's nomination will be another disappointment. Obama promised to change America's health care system, but his nominee to be secretary is no change agent," Alex Conant, a RNC spokesman, said in a statement.

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That is very good news for those of us interested in advancing the cause of universal health care. This is a subject that Daschle has been working on for a number of years and about which he has written a book. In addition, he will bring to the job his skills for developing coalitions which he honed as Majority Leader.

Posted by Elinor November 19, 08 01:00 PM
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Daschle's from South Dakota....not Iowa....

Posted by Andrew November 19, 08 01:06 PM
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He was elected from SOUTH DAKOTA not Iowa!

Posted by D November 19, 08 01:25 PM
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Isn't Tom Daschle from South Dakota, not Iowa?

Posted by Niskymom November 19, 08 01:26 PM
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Daschle was never elected from Iowa. He is SD from birth.

Posted by KP November 19, 08 01:34 PM
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Another useless retread.

Change you can believe in.

Posted by NoNoNobama November 19, 08 01:41 PM
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yup SD not IA

Posted by lolipopp November 19, 08 01:54 PM
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These early nominations have been very underwhelming. I thought change was coming and all we have been getting are Clinton retreads and political favoritism. Dont be surprised if Monica resurfaces and is also hired for a cabinet position.

Posted by eagleeye November 19, 08 02:07 PM
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What happened to CHANGE, you ObamaBots??? First, he selects Holder for Attorney General - the guy who approved the pardon for Marc Rich (who fled the country instead of facing the charges) - and now Daschle, whose wife is a Washington lobbyist. No matter - just don't pay attention to what's happening there, look over here instead.............Hope and change, change and hope, same old politics..........amazing how people can never see through mirages like Deval Patrick and Barack Obama............

Posted by cjk165021 November 19, 08 02:08 PM
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"Where's the beef?" being replaced by "Where's the change?" soon to be replaced by "Where's the economy?", then by "Are we out of Iraq yet?", then by "Where did my freedom go?"

Posted by R U Kidding November 19, 08 02:18 PM
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In order to make a difference you need to have people who know what
they are doing. Otherwise, you have a Jimmy Carter or the first two years of Clinton. And clearly, the people Obama has nominated people who know what they are doing particularly Daschle.
In the short time that he has been on the national stage Obama has exhibited signs of being a good manager in addition to being seen as an excellent leader. Let all us hope he continues these traits into his presidency.

Posted by Tim Fitzgibbon November 19, 08 02:46 PM
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Obama is appointing people who are capable of doing the job, not just yes-men, heckuva-job-Brownies and donors. *That's* the change. The fact that someone has succeeded in his field shouldn't disqualify him.

The Republican machine is out in force, promoting their message of "no we can't". eagleeye and cjk165021 are determined to see America fail because they love their party more than they love their country. The Republicans have become the party of "anything but success".

Posted by DenverDave November 19, 08 02:48 PM
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Hope and Change!

Another Washington insider gets the cabinet position.......

Barack Obama; where Hope and Change meets More of the Same

Posted by Tom King November 19, 08 02:53 PM
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More 'Change you can Xerox'............

From Washington Lobbyists !!

Posted by - Da Truth November 19, 08 03:32 PM
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President elect Obama got CHAINED to the past that CHANGES are impossible.

Posted by skmj November 19, 08 04:18 PM
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Daschle has ZERO credibility. i suggest that you look into his tax situation very closely and read the leaked confidential draft report the Senate committee prepared, including the insulting stupidity of his explanations. And the Globe ought to be providing much better reporting on the many, many pharma firms lobbied for and exactly he did. Some reports suggest that he was lobbying for noncompetitive contracts for some medical supply outfits. Change that you can't begin to believe in--it looks like Obama is a massive fraud.

Posted by James January 31, 09 09:15 AM
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