Representation Without Taxation: Et Tu, Tom Daschle?

It seems so long ago that we were up in arms about Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who owed $34,000 in back taxes because of- what was it again? Something about the IMF and math being hard?

Ah, forget it. Tim Geithner's tax problems are nothing compared to the news about Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle…

A Senate document obtained by The Associated Press shows former Sen. Tom Daschle recently filed amended tax returns to report over $128,000 in back taxes and nearly $12,000 in interest.

$128,000?! Good grief. Nothing's going to distract the American public — and the Senate Finance Committee, which meets today to discuss Daschle's appointment — from a tax scandal this big. Nothing!

The disclosure of Daschle's tax problems coincided with the release of the financial statement he submitted to the Office of Government Ethics, which details for the first time exactly how, without becoming a registered lobbyist, he made millions of dollars giving public speeches and private counsel to insurers, hospitals, realtors, farmers, energy firms and telecommunications companies with complex regulatory and legislative interests in Washington.

Daschle's expertise and insights, gleaned over 26 years in Congress, earned him more than $5 million over the past two years, including $220,000 from the health-care industry, and perks such as a chauffeured Cadillac, according to the documents.

You know what, forget Tom Daschle's tax problems. That's nothing compared to Tom Daschle's conflicts of… hey, wait a minute. I think I see what's going on here.

The Obama administration is just trying to distract us from their appointees' ethical and financial scandals by unrolling successively bigger ethical and financial scandals. Mark my words: this will end when Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack pulls off his mask and turns out to be Bernie Madoff.