"Tom Daschle failed to pay taxes on a quarter-million dollars of income related to the chauffeured Cadillac that ferried him about town for three years. But don't call the guy a limousine liberal.

When he visited Capitol Hill yesterday to explain his tax problems to senators, Daschle -- President Obama's choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services -- came and went in a D.C. cab. The ride waiting for him on Constitution Avenue was labeled "M. Djebbour Taxi Co."

"My failure to recognize that the use of a car was income and not a gift from a good friend was a mistake," the former Senate majority leader explained as his onetime colleagues stood behind him in a display of support. "It was completely inadvertent. But that's no excuse, and I deeply apologize to President Obama, to my colleagues and to the American people."

It's unclear whether the American people will accept the apology; they tend to look unfavorably on people who amass more than $350,000 in unreported income and improper deductions. They also might be skeptical of somebody who used his connections and influence to pile up more than $5.2 million since he left the Senate, much of it from a major Democratic donor and $220,000 of it from health-care interests that Daschle, if confirmed by senators, will begin to regulate.

But Obama, and Democratic senators, were eager to accept their friend's apology. The president, a former senator himself, pronounced himself "absolutely" behind Daschle, and members of the Senate Finance Committee, after sitting with Daschle for just 15 minutes, lined up at the microphones to absolve him."

Get the Story:
Washington Sketch by Dana Milbank: 1040 Apologies and a Number of Old Friends (The Washington Post 2/3)
Daschle's Woes Test An Insider's Insider The Washington Post 2/3)
Daschle Apologizes Over Taxes as Allies Give Support (The New York Times 2/3)

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Daschle HHS nomination tied up over tax issues (2/2)