President-Actually Barack Obama is mulling a controversial new tax program that would require members of his Cabinet to pay taxes owed under the Federal tax code, the White House confirmed today.
While the unorthodox tax proposal is reportedly "only in the planning stages," it is being eyed as a possible way to balance the Federal budget.
"According to projections, if members of the Cabinet actually paid their taxes, we could wind up with a budget surplus in excess of $18.2 billion," said Obama economic adviser Paul Volcker.
Mr. Volcker said he strongly favored the plan, but added, "Fortunately for me, I'm not officially in the Cabinet."
But imposing taxes on Cabinet members may be easier said than done, critics of the plan warn.
"Remember, these people are not used to paying taxes," said one White House source. "They are going to be hopping mad about this."
Another wrinkle in the plan is how the taxes would actually be collected, with President Obama reportedly favoring a cash-at-the-door entry fee for every Cabinet meeting.
"If they don't have the money, they don't get in," said the source. "They're not going to be able to just sail into the White House for free like the Jonas Brothers."
When told of Mr. Obama's plan to make his Cabinet members pay taxes, Fmr. Sen. Tom Daschle responded, "Whew! Sounds like I dodged a bullet."
Speaking of Mr. Daschle, President Barack Obama has issued a new set of standards to his vetting committee, revising them downwards substantially. Here is his memo:
After some very visible mistakes in our vetting process, I have established new ground rules for prospective appointees to our administration. These standards are obviously not so lofty as I once aspired to but, in light of current events, I think asking public officials to meet these criteria is more doable.
Following are new vetting requirements for appointees:
1. Must have legitimate social security number.
2. Must have filed federal and state income tax returns every year of their adult lives.
3. Must have reported all income (this includes job-related benefits and gifts, income earned overseas, money received for which there are no pay stubs, and anything else that damned IRS considers "income").
4. Must have paid taxes for all employees (even -- especially -- if they are not American citizens).
5. Must not argue, "I only realized much later, when I saw my picture on the wall at my local post office, that when I _____________ that this was not permitted by the Federal income tax codes, criminal laws of my state and the United States, the Better Business Bureau's recommended practices, or the ethical standards of even the most permissive religion."
6. Must not display prominently in their offices the slogan, "Only the little people pay taxes."
7. Must not have given any interviews where they name Leona Helmsley as either their hero or a role model.
I realize that these are incredibly stringent standards in the current environment, where anyone worth their salt must make enough money to send their children and grandchildren to expensive private schools, maintain homes in their state/Washington DC/New York/a ski resort/a beach community, and have an assistant immediately at hand even when showering.
I agree entirely with the sentiments expressed by a number of current and former Senators that it may be impossible to find anyone in this country with executive experience in health care, finance, or military procurement who can pass muster with such stern ethical requirements. But I am committed to pursuing this impossible dream -- God Bless America!
TODAY'S SATIRE BROUGHT TO YOU BY A PRESIDENT WITH THE BALLS TO ADMIT:
"I SCREWED UP"
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84 comments:
It's so refreshing to have a president who can admit a mistake. Better that than the macho hubris we were subjected to for so long.
Obama has the honesty and courage to admit he made a mistake.
Let's look at the GOP. They had a surplus when Clinton left office, now they've wracked up a massive deficit. Are they taking the blame?
They approve everyone of Bush's monster appointments: Alberto Gonzales, Donald Rumseld, Horse-trader Brown of Fema. They filled the adminstration with religious fanatics with no scientific training who in turn censored and rewrote scientific reports about climate change published by NASA. 9/11 occurred while Condolezza Rice was the National Security Advisor. Did the GOP hold Rice accountable? Hardly. They promoted her to Secretary of State.
Now they are trying to destroy Obama's American Recovery and Renewal Act. If 4 or 5 million more americans lose their jobs because of GOP's obstruction, will Republicans hold themselves accountable? Hardly
The media is equally to blame. They promoted the Iraq war - in fact stopped short of selling tickets to the event because the conglomerates that control the media also held stock in defense industries. Has any one in the media stepped up to the plate and said, I'M to blame?"
Obama's frank declaration of personal responsibility is a radical departure from everyone else from the GOP, to the Media, to the CEO's who are now demanding bailouts for their own irresponsible behavior. Let's remember that.
I have complete faith in our President and he is NOT to blame for this, the picks are...He will be fine
I respect Obama's decision to acknowledge his error. I do not recall the previous president doing this upon the withdrawal of the following nominees:
Tim Flanagan #2 DOJ (connections to Jack Abramoff)
Bernard Kerik Homeland Security (hiring illegal aliens)
Linda Chavez Secretary of Labor (nannygate)
Harriet Miers - Supreme Court (ignorance of constitutional law, etc)
What joy to my ears! A grown-up male who can admit making mistakes. What a concept!
Obama will prove to be one of America's BEST presidents, even with the repugs frothing at the mouth over every tiny misstep, perceived or otherwise......
It is interesting to see how unforgiving the repugs are when they allowed bush to shred our constitution, lie us into a war and spy on every single American, like a soviet..... Those things don't bother repugnants, but a cabinet member who paid a fine for late taxes is hell worthy.
Just sit back, and sniff the reich-wing hypocrisy.....
And, it smells like an open sewer!
Still at double what Bush could muster. And no vacations yet.
Yeah I was thinking about that. Weren't bush's first 100 days on vacation?
Mr President, I know it's easier said than done, yet do not let this get under your skin.
As far as I am concerned you have done more for this country in the past 15 days than anyone has done in the last 5 or 6 years. (one exception, our military forces, many of them have made that ultimate sacrifice).
It would be nice to see the democratic party grow up, and unite around our President as well as around this country.
We are better than this, and we know it. You all know what needs to be don to get this country back on track, and by golly you all need to get off your keisters and get with it. Stand up and be counted, will you.
I do not blame Obama one bit for any of this, however I do blame every member of our house and senate, both parties have failed this country and they need to get it together.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/state_by_state_employment_impact/
With all this happening today we missed Obama's message above.
Jobs created, by state:
Alabama 55,000
Alaska 9,000
Arizona 74,000
Arkansas 33,000
California 421,000
Colorado 63,000
Connecticut 44,000
Delaware 11,000
District of Columbia 13,000
Florida 218,000
Georgia 113,000
Hawaii 17,000
Idaho 18,000
Illinois 158,000
Indiana 79,000
Iowa 39,000
Kansas 35,000
Kentucky 51,000
Louisiana 53,000
Maine 16,000
Maryland 70,000
Massachusetts 83,000
Michigan 116,000
Minnesota 70,000
Mississippi 32,000
Missouri 73,000
Montana 12,000
Nebraska 24,000
Nevada 36,000
New Hampshire 17,000
New Jersey 106,000
New Mexico 23,000
New York 228,000
North Carolina 111,000
North Dakota 9,000
Ohio 142,000
Oklahoma 42,000
Oregon 46,000
Pennsylvania 152,000
Rhode Island 13,000
South Carolina 54,000
South Dakota 10,000
Tennessee 75,000
Texas 286,000
Utah 33,000
Vermont 8,000
Virginia 99,000
Washington 80,000
West Virginia 21,000
Wisconsin 74,000
Wyoming 8,000
I am so happy that President Obama takes responsibility for a mistake/s. If this isn't change, I don't know what is! For the nay sayers and neo nuts...... Bush did not own up to any mistakes!!! All that Administration did was drive this country into the ground! President Obama has been in office for 2 weeks and he's done more good than Bush The Criminal ever did!
He has nothing to apologize for. It's like Obama became the new leader in a nursing home for the criminally incompetent.
That is a great analogy
I don't get why the derailment of the Daschle nomination is, or should be, an embarassment for the President.
Explain it to me like I'm six, because right now my thought is "hyperbole much?"
"Explain it to me like I'm six"
The bad man tricked the good man and made him feel bad.
Obama is taking way more responsibility when it wasn't even his fault. Obama is one of the rarest kind of politicians that practices what he preaches.
I was worried the Democrats around him will screw up to make HIM look bad. Obama should stand behind them but it's too bad he has to waste time doing damage control.
The problem is the dems want to move forward, unfortunately along with some of their pet projects that bush nixed.
On the other hand, the repubs are trying to shore up their image, ensure the corporate/lobbyist base does not abandon them and show to America that bush's policies were on point; all to get egg on the face of Obama and dems.
What we have is "We, the people" vs "We the corporate body".
Repubs are only interested in Obama spinning around until 2010 and eventually 2012.
We can't let them win.
Those who are interested in progress should and must stand up against old style democratic AND republican policies until we get things right.
God only knows when that'll be though at this rate.
True leadership carries with it much humility. It is great that our President knows how to say sorry...in fact, his use of the words "screw up" is even more effective than the word sorry itself.
Let's give him some slack. He's got a lot of other much more important things to worry about, and his appointees are just an iota as compared to the other burdens bothering him, such as fixing the economy. It would be helpful if his vetting team does its job better next time; spare the President the embarrassment by actually doing your jobs right. He cannot do this on his own, you know.
CNN did a story on the vetting. The taxes are not published. There is no way of knowing about a tax issue unless the candidate informs them or something publicly is filed (a lien).
Nice satire, doc, but the vetting team did not screw up. Daschle did not tell Obama about the problem until AFTER he was nominated.
Dear Mr. President,
I am grown up enough to know that life isn't easy nor is it fair. I also understand you may not get everything you want in life. Yet what I do understand is that the American people voted for you to deliver. We also understand that you are not perfect and we don't expect you to be. So on behalf of your electorate we forgive you. We understand the severe challenges you and this nation face. We still have confidence in you and your judgment. Godspeed Sir.
Nice post.
Nothing to forgive. Daschle had information about himself he should have told Obama at the time he was nominated. It is gracious of Obama to claim responsibility but the moral fault lies with Daschle.
This happens with every Presidency. This is nothing. Not the least bit his fault other than the fact he is holding himself to a MUCH higher standard than any other president.
He doesn't need forgiveness.... he needs support...
It would be great to AUDIT all the republicans and their dirty laundry while they sit and pass judgment on others. I'm sure they have their $$$$ in the Bahamas and other hidden places with their own crew of Lobbyist (McCain with Phil Gramm) and McCains guy that $80,000 from Georgia....the republicans think this is funny and they are doing their best to make sure that they take over the room at the vote time and "kick sand" in the face of the American public that is losing jobs, health benefits, etc., and then stand up and lie that there is mone in the stimulus going to ACORN..good god there is nothing in the stimulus for ACORN....so they sit back create chaos but had no problem with Rove, Gramm, etc. and standing toe to toe with BUSH no matter what he did. Obama is faced with the BUSH/Republican bull crap..how can any of you complain when he has only been in the office two weeks, and has to clean up the BUSH crap. Believe me, the republicans are WAY MORE DIRTY and if one Repub. Senator was in the position of Daschle; they would have loaned him the money to pay their debts and kept the under cover. The republicans are standing together.....WE ARE BIGGER THAN THIS...WE VOTED FOR OBAMA AND IT'S TIME WE ALL STAND BEHIND HIM AND LET HIM TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS.
The people who allegedly vetted Daschle before he was nominated in mid December are the ones who screwed up and Obama needs to get rid of them or there will be more unpleasant surprises, especially among those who do not need confirmation.
Woodward predicted "scandals" for some appointees. Apparently Obama was the last to know. But really, what kind of moral lapse caused Daschle to not let Obama know about his problems which he was well aware of at the time of his nomination. He always struck me as someone with a lean and hungry look. This proves it.
It's refreshing to see the President take ownership, but if I had to place "blame" somewhere, I would give it to his team. They should have vetted more thoroughly...President Obama is just a good leader...since HE is admitting he "screwed up" since it is under his watch. Nice.
It takes a big man to admit a mistake and take responsibility. So refreshing after so many years of lack of responsibiltiy by our leaders.
Bush came close to saying he screwed up.
"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."
Governor George W. Bush to Sam Donaldson, 8/17/93
LOL!!
Will somebody explain something to me: If a make a $5.00 mistake on my taxes, I'll get a nice call from the IRS..... Someone else can make a $100,000.00 "mistake" but the IRS doesn't care. What am I missing?
You know how much money McCain owed in property taxes? Millions, and nobody called him on it, not the Repubs or the IRS.
I can't remember the year, but quite early in his mal-administration, Bush ordered the IRS to go after the "Joe Lunchbuckets" of this world, instead of the Rothchilds and the Hennesseys. I hope that this is one order that is already on President O's desk for overturning.
Because Mr. Daschle's accountants discovered the errors almost two years ago. The IRS did NOT FIND THE ERRORS. Just be thankful you weren't in his shoes and have to come up with $100,000 since 2007.
I am not excusing him, really, because he should have had someone else review the work of his ACCOUNTANTS. But, he didn't. How many of us do?
Mr. Obama's biggest mistake was trusting the American people to see through all the press hype geared to bringing him down.
Do you REALLY believe all of GWB's GOPer cronies were squeakly clean tax wise? No, they just didn't have anyone "investigating" them.
Wait a minute, isn't our President supposed to be blaming things on Bill Clinton or George Bush or even Jimmy Carter? What's going on here?
Responsibility? OMG, acceptance of one's own actions and the responsibility?!
What a strikingly sharp contrast to the previous 8 years where nobody accepted responsibility for anything or even acknowledged making a mistake. It is good to have a President again.
I don't necessarily blame o for this, but dems should really try being honest with their taxes if they are going to tell other rich people to pay their fair share.
And McCain should've been paying his property taxes if he wanted to be president.
Is Joe the Non-taxpayer an advisor for the GOP now?
What! A president that takes responsibility even for things that others did and that he couldn't have known? What a change to have gone from having President George W. Schlemiel to President Barack Hussein Mensch. This is still the guy I want: even when he messes up, he owns up. I'd vote for him again.
Absolutely. A president that owns up and doesn't blame someone else for his mistakes. What a great change of pace!!!!
Obama did the right thing. What is concerning me at this point are the non-taxpayers in Washington seemingly coming out of the woodwork here. How utterly and contemptably hypocritical. And you just know there a more that haven't been "outed" yet. Good blog, doc.
If this is the worst thing to happen to him, then its going to be a great four (most likely eight) years.
Finally! A president of the United States who is ADULT enough to admit a mistake.
What a breath of fresh air after EIGHT L-O-N-G years of lies, deceit, corruption and criminals!
It's okay, Obama. Take a deep breath and start all over again.
I do agree that, whatever else, Tom Daschle is a good man and his loss to HHS will be great. Still, Democrats are scrutinized to the nth degree, so it was gracious of him to step down.
Actually, I don't think Obama screwed up at all. The system in Washington has tainted everyone who has come in contact with it. Pretty hard to find a clean washcloth in a dirty laundry bin!
Our president is beloved, and he warned he would not be perfect. More importantly, he's honest, and we can count on him to take the high road.
So far, so good.
The fact is NONE of these people have worked ONE day in the Obama Administration yet, they DID NOT GET SWORN IN, they have not even been to the White House yet, so what is the big deal here!?!
Isn't it the point to catch the mistake before the person gets the job? --- WELL FOLKS, THEY CAUGHT THE PROBLEM, AND THE PEOPLE DID NOT GET THE JOB. They DID NOT start working at the White House yet! So no harm, no foul.
All these tabloid news stations trying to make this into a soap opera need to get a DAMN life, and stop their tabloid style reporting!
All that happened here is that some people submitted their resumes, and after going through the strenuous process of the many interviews, information is found out that takes the person OUT of the running.
So they are taken out of the running BEFORE they start working a day on the job. Isn't that the point, and isn't that what happened here?
So let's move on people! The fact is new people will be nominated, they will be put through the interview process, and if they pass, they will get a job.
Had Bush said, "I screwed up", right after invading Iraq and finding no WMDs, hundreds of thousand wouldn't be dead or injured, tens of thousand civilians wouldn't be in prisons, thousands wouldn't have been tortured, and millions wouldn't have been displaced.
And we would have fewer terrorists around the world (a fact supported by our NIE documents).
But then, maybe he didn't screw up. Maybe he was just a pathological mass murderer.
Come to think of it, we wouldn't be in such a big mess economically either.
All I can say about Obama is that at least he admits when he makes a mistake. The previous 8 years were denials, defiance, and in your face politics. This man is humble and he will learn from his mistakes. I appreciate his honesty.
Lots of good changes in 14 days.
Good Job Obama!
I Expected the GOP to dig in their heels.
Time to Nuke the filibuster.
We have lots of work to do.
Too bad Charlie Gibson can't get his facts right. He quoted a mythical CBO report, but the correct number is 78% of the stimulus will be in the economy in two years.
he did look a little smug, didn't he?
I've never seen him NOT look smug. I've always wondered how/why he got that anchor job - I thought it was bad enough that they let him work on Good Morning America, and then all of a sudden he was anchoring the evening news.
One of the reasons that all presidents, including President Obama, get 100 day honeymoons, is they need at least that much time for their policies to be implemented and have an early assessment made of them.
The failures of Geithner, Daschle, etc. can be overcome easily in the next 86 days. Actually, I think they were overcome as soon as Obama said, "I screwed up."
86 days? What happens then? Do all the Democrats blow up because the dreaded 100 day mark has come and they have not figured out how to get us out of this giant lake of quicksand that Bush left us in? Who the hell decided a new president had to have it all solved in 100 days anyway?
It took Bush years to take us down this path of doom. I'm positive we will be giving our new president more than 100 days to lead us back down the right path.
At the 100 day mark it would be interesting to compare the damage Bush had managed to inflict upon us to the right moves that president Obama will have made in that same time period.
Listening to Republicans & right wing conservatives lecture President Obama on spending , or frankly anything to do with fixing our economy is laughable given their lockstep support of the failed Bush administration. I was watching that mad scientist Steve Forbes on Morning Joe going on and on and on about what President Obama needs to do to get us out of this mess and all the while I'm thinking where the hell was all this impatience and wisdom when President Bush was running this country in the ground over the last 8 years.
One of President Obama's greatest assets is his ability to keep his wits about him when everyone else seems to go bananas.
Focus on the big picture health care, & upward mobility for the poor and middle class & ignore the endless carping and garbled background noise coming from the right wing who are still sore from the whippin' the Dems gave em' on November 4th, 2008.
Center right country my ass, Go get em Mr. President!!
That's the difference between a real leader and a delusional one. We have one who is honest enough to admit when he has made a mistake even on a relatively inconsequential matter. We HAD one who's head is stuck where the sun don't shine (remember his last press statement about Katrina?).
In just two weeks President Obama has put forth orders to close Guantanamo Bay, stopped torture, ended CIA black sites, signed legislation to further working women's rights, watched over an all-important stimulus package make its way through the House and on its way to his desk, almost made officially public the movement towards bringing more of our brave troops home from Iraq, is engaging Russia in talks about vastly reducing our ridiculous, dangerous, and expensive nuclear stockpiles, and... really those are only the things I can think of off the top of my head.... Half the list alone is more than I could have hoped for and this is only the beginning. No screwups on the big stuff.
And yet, while I have never seen or heard him pat himself on the back for these monumental achievements, I just watched him publicly own up to his mistakes. It's like having my dad for president.
You're absolutely right, but this is the way things are going to go. Obama could bring universal peace and happiness to the world, and his critics would complain that he took too long doing it, and included some 'pork' along the way.
The mainstream media is leading the charge against Obama, and they're worse than Limbaugh and his ilk, because people know Limbaugh is going to attack Obama on everything. CNN, etc., go to great pains to paint themselves as neutral, but they're just dying for a scandal involving Obama's administration to pump up. They'll call the 'balanced' journalism. I don't approve of the tax avoidance measures of Obama's nominees, but this issue is getting far more press than all the other things you mentioned combined, but this is what is considered 'balance'.
And Obama owned up to a mistake. He's new, he's going to make them, but better to admit it, correct it and move on. Compare that to Bush's mistake (if it was) on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Rather than admit the mistake, Bush and his peerless gang of corrupt advisors just tried to brazen it through, leading to eight (and counting) years of bloody war. And they're taxes weren't in order either.
Yeah, it is a pretty impressive partial list isn't it? Go to whitehouse.gov for everything - it's incredible!
Pres. Obama has nothing to be embarrassed about.
Gibson is the one who should be embarrassed for asking such an asinine, inane question; and, ABC for showing it.
I agree. All the news people are saying this is a black mark for him, but I don't see it. I don't think the American people blame Obama for Daschle's tax troubles.
ditto the ditto
You have to understand, it's the only way ABC can hope to ever migrate some of the Fox News watchers to their network.
Most of the 'journalists' today stink. I think that because of cable news they just have too much dead air time and too much competition. They start legitimizing news stories that are just speculation and "what if". I think that's how a bunch of rumors actually get started.
What a load of shit! The culprits are the ones who should be embarrassed. Barack is not the one who didn't pay his taxes. They are. In fact, it only shows that he is real serious about what he pledged when it comes to cleaning up Washington.
Of course, but this is the sign of a true leader. Authority can be delegated, responsibility cannot. A real leader accepts responsibility for the actions of those under him. I know it's been a while since we've seen this, so it still feels weird.
McCain should have said "I screwed up" and dumped Palin.
in what respect, Charlie?
LOLOLOL
I think Charlie was probably just interested in his "world view", but he may have been fishing for the "Obama Doctrine" exclusive.
No doubt, Gibson was hoping Obama would stutter and stumble in obfuscation and confusion.
How cool would it have been if Obama had said exactly that phrase? It would have defused the whole situation!!!
Our media are posing as objective news people but they are not. U.S. corporations want to expand into foreign markets with low labor costs. The media are these corporations. They are funded by these corporations.
The media is going to spread propaganda and tilt the coverage in favor of Republican/Corporate policies as long as they can get away with it.
Compared to the felons and criminals that occupied posts of the previous administration not paying taxes is like getting a ticket for jay walking.
You know what really did Tom Daschle in? It turns out there are now pictures of him partying with Michael Phelps.
Because Daschle didn't pay back taxes, President-Actually Obama says now it's down to his second and third choices, Willie Nelson and Wesley Snipes.
Ba dum bum ching!
ROFL!! Good one, doc!
Lol. We gotta remember that doc's blog is funny stuff... the comments today are mostly serious. Take a clue from adlib and doc, and lighten up, people.
OK
Daschle withdrew after being forced to pay $128,000 in back taxes. Daschle was extremely upset because now it looks like he paid his taxes for nothin'!
that's the spirit
president obama has a great new economic plan. he's going to make all the cabinet members that he has selected pay their back taxes.
the economy is so bad, even people who have nothing to do with the Obama administration aren't paying their taxes.
Now that Daschle has withdrawn his nomination, Obama's thinking of replacing him with the CEO of Safeway supermarkets. The White House said they should be able to check him out quickly if he has eight items or less.
lol
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