It is hard to think of a new Administration that has slipped up so fast. Instead of taking a realistic position on ethics, the Obama team continued the pious breast-beating of the campaign and established draconian standards for service in the Administration. The enacted vetting process was so cumbersome it apparently had to be slighted in practice, which meant that standards started eroding altogether, along with the new crowd's credibility. The problem arose first with the recruitment of former lobbyists to serve in the Administration--after pledging, unwisely, that there would be none. To get around an unsound policy the acceptance of lobbyists was achieved through case-by-case-waivers. Quickly it became clear that the standard doesn't really exist.
Now we have the really prickly issue of taxes. After their announcements, three Obama nominees have turned out to have tax liability problems. The most recent two, Nancy Killefer and Tom Daschle, have just dropped out of contention. (Tim Geithner was given a pass and confirmed. Killefer arguably did nothing wrong at all and should not have been asked to quit.) I tend to sympathize with busy people set upon in largely exaggerated scandals, except I can't get over the hypocrisy of Administration officials who claim special moral status and yet promote members who conspicuously fail their own tests.
Are they being cynical or just clumsy?
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