Since I wrote the previous post two days ago (even though it posted this morning), there’s been two developments that I’d like to address.
Interestingly enough, both of them are reversals or improvements on two “bad” things I listed.
First, while I still think Daschle was a bad decision on the president’s part (the vetting process had to have uncovered Daschle’s tax problem), I am very pleased that Mr. Obama accepted responsibility and admitted his mistake in public. He sets a high ethical standard, and this shows that he’s going to try to live up to it, along with his staff.
Second, for all my kvetching about Obama’s silence on House legislation to cap executive bonuses, damn if he didn’t, y’know, move to cap executive compensation this week, after Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) pushed the idea in the Senate. It was a good idea when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) pushed it back when the TARP fund was first voted on in November, and it’s a good idea now. Congrats to President Obama for implementing it (even if the traditional media is now pushing the idea that the lawyers are just gonna find loopholes, anyway.)
Damn, even when he makes mistakes, President Obama earns my respect for how he handles them.