Daschle out — More Obama bad judgment

Former Sen. Tom Daschle pulled out his name from consideration as head of the Health and Human Service this morning. Don't give any credit to President Obama. He didn't ask for it. He was weak on this early test of his convictions ... and that bodes poorly on what we can expect from the Obama Administration in the future.

Had Obama really meant all those things he talked about during the campaign, he would never have appointed Daschle. Daschle was a perfect example of a revolving-door politician who traded in his public service into a lobbying job. Daschle was exactly the kind of guy Obama said he'd never appoint to his administration. Yet he did. Not because he was the best to lead that department, but because he was an early and faithful political supporter of Obama. In other words, same old patronage politics of Washington, D.C.

If Obama can't find the backbone to do the right thing on Daschle, why should Americans believe in anything else he had to say in the campaign or in his lofty inauguration speech. He says he knows how to fix the economy, but looking at what he's trying to get passed through Congress, it's crystal clear he doesn't have a clue. The so-called stimulus bill is just a rehash or age-old Democrat dream spending. It's a social bill, not an economic stimulus bill.

The Daschle deal was bad, bad, bad. Yet, even as bad as it was, Obama couldn't find his way clear to do the right thing.

Bad instincts are bad instincts. It's not something you turn on and turn off. If Obama's judgment on this is so bad, we can only shudder how that bad judgment will hurt us when it comes to the economy and national defense.