From Wikipedia:

"[Daschle] was President Barack Obama's nominee to serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Obama's Cabinet, but withdrew his name on February 3, 2009 after controversy over prior underpayment of taxes."

It seems like such a long time since we've heard a president admit that he made a mistake.

Heh heh, he owed more taxes then I will ever make in salary... good times.

Hmm.. i like his shortness about "fixing it so it'll never happen again"... sounds like a threat to anyone who fucks with him, in the nicest way.. i love this guy.

This is presidential, to admit making a mistake, to assure the people that you will try and do things right the next time. It humanizes the post that most people underestimate in its complexity. Am sure there were political handlers who pushed Obama to not making this announcement, believing it would make him seem weak.

I could never understand the inane wankery that happened post 9/11 with presidential coverage back then, where basically non admission of mistakes was claimed to be powerful and confident. That is simply stupid and stubborn.

The ability to question ones own judgment, to reevaluate your own thinking, to admit making a mistake only allows one to make better judgments later on.

Of course using phrases like "I screwed up" is going to allow his opponents to take easier shots at him later on. I appreciate the admission of mistakes but I hope he doesn't undermine himself too much. Still, he's setting a refreshing example. What's the difference between this and Geitner? Was his tax situation known upfront?

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

Taking blame is a liberating experience - it puts the onus on others to forgive you. Bush never learned that.

Meh

Also taking blame is the hardest thing to do ever

Get real everyone. Barak Obama himself had NOTHING to do with the vetting process except the initial "check this guy". Do you think the President has the time to go do the literal mountain of fact-finding needed for the hundreds of people in his administration? Here is what really happens... AIDE1: "Mr President we checked and Tom Daschle looks OK." OBAMA: "OK, let's go" (fist bump).

And as far as the "Oh wow - that's how a President should act"... You people must rent yourselves out as Hoovers you are such suck-ups. Bush accepted blame & apologized for a lot of things, but you never cut him one inch of slack. Now you're all falling over yourselves to say how wonderful Obama is for doing it. What a bunch of brainless Obama-zombie tools. Your two-facedness and partisan hack nature make you completely pathetic sell-outs.

I never at any time during Bush2 would sell-out my principles. Bush did TONS of things I thought were incredibly stupid and I said so. Farm subsidies, immigration 'reform', education bill, reckless spending and a bazillion other things. And I want him held responsible and blamed for all that crap, so when he did them I criticized him like he deserved for being an over-spending jackass. But you Obama-zombies... Obama could re-open Gitmo2 under the name "Obamaland" (which he probably will) and you'd say he was a genius. Obama could declare war based on faulty intelligence and you'd fall over yourselves to be the first person in line to french-kiss his duodenum.

>> ^Deano:
What's the difference between this and Geitner? Was his tax situation known upfront?

I don't know all the details of Daschle's tax issue, but I think part of the difference is that Geitner had paid some of his back taxes prior to ever being considered for Treasury. When Obama picked him, the vetting team realized that there were other taxes he had owed, but for which he was no longer legally responsible due to the statute of limitations. But, obviously, it still would have set a bad precedent.

The irony is that Daschle's unpaid taxes issue really doesn't have much bearing on his qualifications for H&HS, whereas for Geitner, he's going to be in charge of the IRS. I guess it goes to show a) just how f'ed up Washington is, and b) just how freaked out everyone is about the economy versus the health care system.

>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
Bush accepted blame & apologized for a lot of things

I'm sorry, what planet are you from? Name one thing (other than failing to dismantle Social Security) for which he apologized and quote a verifiable source.

This is such a nice change of pace.

HOLY MOTHER OF DAG... did he just accept responsibility for his actions? *WTF?

Adding video to channels (Wtf) - requested by MycroftHomlz.

Yeah, i don't remember Bill C. or George W.B. doing much of this either. Not sure about George H.W.B. or Ronald R., because i can't remember back that far.

Oh sure you made a mistake, Barack, but you're gonna have to do some king hell screwing the pooch to catch up with your predecessor!

Name one thing (other than failing to dismantle Social Security) for which he apologized and quote a verifiable source.
Katrina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8az4CfEDpw
Prison abuse: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1875191
Economic downturn: http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/01122008/2/biz-finance-bush-apologizes-financial-crisis-says-economy-recover.html
To a certain extent even the Iraq War: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/story?id=6354012&page=1

But I could list a billion Bush apologies and it wouldn't matter jack to Obama-zombies. Just keep splooging on each other over Obama's 'apology' for something he had nothing to do with. And please quit apologizing for it. Just accept it. You've sold out logic, reason, and even common sense in the name of blind partisan fanboism. You're Obama-whipped. Just admit it. If Obama took out a gun on national TV and started shooting puppies you'd thank him for ending the 'future rabid dog menace'.

Farhad's reminded me: I once read an article that suggested a lot of Americans (circa the 2004 elections anyway) liked Bush even knowing he was flawed because they'd prefer a leader who was "strong and wrong" rather than one who was right but appeared weak.

>> ^Farhad2000:
I could never understand the inane wankery that happened post 9/11 with presidential coverage back then, where basically non admission of mistakes was claimed to be powerful and confident. That is simply stupid and stubborn.

>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
I could list a billion Bush apologies and it wouldn't matter jack to Obama-zombies.



Of course Bush apologized for a lot of things, but not for the things people were criticizing him for.

He didn't apologize for invading Iraq under false pretenses, he apologized for displaying a "Mission Accomplished" banner too soon.

He didn't apologize for the government's handling of Katrina nor did he say that the FEMA director was less than effective in his allocation of resources... he apologized for not landing Airforce 1 in Louisiana instead of flying over it.

It isn't that Bush didn't apologize for anything, it is that he very often missed the point (almost intentionally at times). Sure, Obama could say "I'm sorry that the people I chose to check out Tom Daschle screwed up", but he didn't. He took responsibility for the actions of those under him, the same way a platoon sergeant is still responsible for the actions of those under his leadership, even when the platoon sergeant isn't directly involved in the screw-up.

There is a point to be made that many people are/were too critical of Bush at times, but I really can't see a reason to criticize Obama for accepting responsibility for the actions of those under his command.

>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
Katrina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8az4CfEDpw
Prison abuse: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1875191
Economic downturn: http://ca.news.finance.yah
oo.com/s/01122008/2/biz-finance-bush-apologizes-financial-crisis-says-economy-recover.html
To a certain extent even the Iraq War: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/story?id=6354012&page=1


I'm going to respond a little out of order.

On the economic collapse (downturn?!), you'll note that what he said was, "I'm sorry it's happening...." That's like saying, "I'm sorry your dog died." Of course he's sorry, but that is not the same as taking responsibility or apologizing.

I saw neither an apology nor any acceptance of responsibility for the failures in intelligence gathering about Iraq and WMDs (in the link you provide or anywhere else). In particular, much of the intelligence that was fed to the public and Congress before the war was cherry picked and outright manipulated from within the White House. AFAIK, he's never even acknowledged this, much less taken responsibility for it.

The utter incompetence of the federal (and local) response to the devastation in New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast after Katrina and Rita makes me almost too angry to respond. Suffice it to say that to this day, people are still fighting to get help that was promised. Completely insincere, and as such, not a real apology. (Even the words he uses in that clip are kind of weasely.)

On the prison abuse at Abu Ghraib. I might actually grant you this one. And I only asked for one verifiable quote. I was unaware that he had ever actually apologized to the people of Iraq, or specifically to the people that were abused and their families.
But again, it's somewhat insincere, because the very same practices were continued at Guantanamo for years after that. Another analogy - it's like saying to your neighbor, "I'm sorry my son beat up your son at school today," and then raping your other neighbor's wife later that night.

I can think of only one time when Bush ever came close to an admitting he was wrong and/or apologizing - the spy plane incident in China. Initially, he whipped out his dick for a pissing contest, risking an escalation of tensions to an unthinkable outcome. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed (Rice and Powell), and we got our people and plane back. But generally speaking, despite any expressions of remorse, Bush never publicly admitted when he was wrong. And he essentially never changed his policies, no matter how wrong they were shown to be.

Don't get me wrong - I won't apologize for Obama. The appointment of Geitner to Treasury and Lynn to Defense are inexcusable. That Killefer and Daschle have been forced to step aside, though, shows a willingness to admit when he's wrong. That gives me some hope that when he does make more serious mistakes in the future (which he surely will), he will be willing to change direction if it's warranted. And if I read them right, I think that's the basic sentiment of many of the preceding comments.

You liberal Atheists make me puke. If a Republican were to admit he screwed up, the video would go to #1 and everyone would rip on the offender.

Hussein Boy admits he's a failure already, and he's somehow "noble."

You all need to grow up.

I appreciated it equally when Sarah Palin said that if she somehow contributed to McCain's loss, she's sorry.

It seemed like a stark break from the GOP's 'symbols over reality,' 'we're never wrong if we don't ADMIT we're wrong' thinking in the current era.

Actually, watching it again... I'm being a little too kind. Her apology was a couple of seconds of honesty preceded and followed by characteristic self-promotion (of her party) and refusal to admit reality.

http://www.videosift.com/video/Palin-in-thrid-person-It-wasnt-Sarah-Palin-s-Fault

>> ^BillOreilly:
You liberal Atheists make me puke. If a Republican were to admit he screwed up, the video would go to #1 and everyone would rip on the offender.
Hussein Boy admits he's a failure already, and he's somehow "noble."
You all need to grow up.


Hypothetical situations are fun. =)

If you look at 0:33 he is instantaneous in his ownership of responsibility. There is zero hesitation. I think the way it was so reactionary is a good indicator of his sincerity.

The way I see it, we're all so used to seeing a guy who told us the economy really didn't make our ass look fat, and the torture was really because he loved us, that now when we have this new guy who shows up at the door with a single rose telling us he loves us for how beautiful we really are on the -inside- and that he'll always try and stay true, that we're having trouble letting go of all that self loathing and guilt... and now if you'll excuse me I have a tub of Dreyer's cookie dough and several episodes of Dr. Phil on Tivo to watch! *CRIES*

No hesitation because he did the same interview 5 times the same day get real...

am i the only one that thought mr. cooper was being a bit of prick and trying really hard to be in attack mode even when barack was apologizing for something he didn't really have much to do with?
i don't think journalists remember how to talk to a president without it being an attack after the last 12 years...

>> ^BillOreilly:
You liberal Atheists make me puke. If a Republican were to admit he screwed up, the video would go to #1 and everyone would rip on the offender.
Hussein Boy admits he's a failure already, and he's somehow "noble."
You all need to grow up.


BillyBoy, "Noble" is actually a word. You don't have to put it in quotes. If you were to look it up in the dictionary, you might learn that to be noble is to have excellent moral character. Maybe if you didn't pick and choose your morals from self-contradicting dogma, you'd be better at spotting what actually is and is not noble.

Winstonfield_Pennypacker says"
" Bush accepted blame & apologized for a lot of things, but you never cut him one inch of slack. Now you're all falling over yourselves to say how wonderful Obama is for doing it. What a bunch of brainless Obama-zombie tools. Your two-facedness and partisan hack nature make you completely pathetic sell-outs. "

Bush accepted blame for some things, as he was leaving. I can't remember any time Bush took any meaningful responsibility in a timely manner. If he had, he would have less to regret as he left.

There was little Bush ever did that wasn't blatantly partisan, and you're criticizing the other partisan side for not ever being behind him? Well, that's brilliant.

When a democrat wins in places like Indiana and North Carolina, the election trasncends the partisan. This country wants him to fix the mistakes the made by his predecessor and previous congresses. It's not just democrats that want this to happen. You act like you don't understand this.

You're a moron. The way you write makes you look like a right wing moron, which makes you look even dumber.

I like Obama. I voted for Obama. I can be happy for Obama. I can be happy for the change in atmosphere. You seem upset. You must not have voted for Obama. Sucks to be you, I guess. Might as well accept it and get over it, dude.

"You've sold out logic, reason, and even common sense in the name of blind partisan fanboism."

You're acting like a loser. I'm sorry for your loss. If you're going to be a cry-baby, why don't you just take your ball and go home?

This administration was drastically different from the last one on day one. This is another example of how and why. Most of us who don't have REAL obsessions (like yours) can recognize that. You're the only "fanboi" here - the anti-fanboi. You're so edgy, dude.

Extreme! Let's flex our penises to show how extreme we are.

ps. Like it or not, this is history. There's already songs written for him, and his face on all kinds of merchandise, and his name being used for all kinds of different things. It's probably as embarrassing to him as it is to me, but you can't sit around expecting it to stop, because the man made history.

The American people fckd up when they elected this man. It's going to take 4 years for the folks who voted for him to learn what everyone that voted against him already knows.

And suprizzle!--scumball Geitner is still in office instead of being fired and in jail.

I giggled myself silly when I read this comment. Leaving Bush out of it, the hero worship is HILARIOUS. Calm down, ladies and gentlemen. Someone is going to get trampled in the rush to lick Obama's handsome, eloquent, apologetic feet.

>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
Get real everyone. Barak Obama himself had NOTHING to do with the vetting process except the initial "check this guy". Do you think the President has the time to go do the literal mountain of fact-finding needed for the hundreds of people in his administration? Here is what really happens... AIDE1: "Mr President we checked and Tom Daschle looks OK." OBAMA: "OK, let's go" (fist bump).

And as far as the "Oh wow - that's how a President should act"... You people must rent yourselves out as Hoovers you are such suck-ups. Bush accepted blame & apologized for a lot of things, but you never cut him one inch of slack. Now you're all falling over yourselves to say how wonderful Obama is for doing it. What a bunch of brainless Obama-zombie tools. Your two-facedness and partisan hack nature make you completely pathetic sell-outs.

I never at any time during Bush2 would sell-out my principles. Bush did TONS of things I thought were incredibly stupid and I said so. Farm subsidies, immigration 'reform', education bill, reckless spending and a bazillion other things. And I want him held responsible and blamed for all that crap, so when he did them I criticized him like he deserved for being an over-spending jackass. But you Obama-zombies... Obama could re-open Gitmo2 under the name "Obamaland" (which he probably will) and you'd say he was a genius. Obama could declare war based on faulty intelligence and you'd fall over yourselves to be the first person in line to french-kiss his duodenum.

Like it or not, this is history. There's already songs written for him, and his face on all kinds of merchandise, and his name being used for all kinds of different things. It's probably as embarrassing to him as it is to me, but you can't sit around expecting it to stop, because the man made history.

I can't argue with that. It's history. The President who turned America from a Land of Freedom into Russia-lite and "I Wanna Be So Euro" land. And the President that 54% of Americans sold out thier conscience, thier brains, their common-sense, and their intellectual honesty for in the name of mindless partisan fanboism. Seriously... When a politician says, "I apologize" and that's all it takes to get a bunch of morons to support whatever he does? That's pathetic. So much for liberals being intelligent, critical thinkers who think debate and disagreement are valuable.

Winstonfield,

Maybe... just MAYBE... I mean, it might be possible... maybe even highly probable... that when someone supports a single action performed by Obama, then that doesn't imply that this someone automatically supports every action performed by Obama.

Maybe... just MAYBE... I mean, it might be possible... maybe even highly probable... that when someone supports a single action performed by Obama, then that doesn't imply that this someone automatically supports every action performed by Obama.

And yet, this single action is proof that Obama is "able to make better judgements"? And people have "never heard this before"? Politicians toss out cheap, meaningless 'apologies' every 2 seconds. Oh - and BO'll "fix it so it never happens again"? Bullogna with a capital bull.

To see people get all moist over something as cheap, cheesy, fake, and baldly political as this is nauseating. They're saying it shows how wonderful BO is. I say it is just one more example of how he's as slimy, low-down, base and manipulative as Rove or Cheney ever were. Obama is NOT a different kind of politician. Whenever he is confronted, he gets testy, dismissive, and belittles those he disagrees with. He is not willing to listen to competing ideas of philosophies except as lip service. His administration to date has the elegance of a toilet plunger. To witness citizens gladly abandoning reason, sense, and even basic THOUGHT just because they are so desperate to like the guy is repulsive.

Like the fact that he apologized? Fine. Whatever. But you're stopping short. The reason you guys were so DESPERATE for a Bush apology was so that you could have something to use to hold him ACCOUNTABLE. Impeachment.. Removal from office... Prosecution for 'war crimes' or whatever. You rejected the apologies Bush did offer because they were not tacit acceptance of consequence. And yet now that Obama comes along and does the same thing somehow it is all different and better and gives you warm fuzzies? Pathetic. So are you also willing to make BO accept the consequence of trying to put a tax-dodging felon on his cabinet?

^ So I take it that your problem is with all politicians rather than Obama himself?

I still don't see what is so bad about Obama's apology. Would you rather he hadn't said anything? It really didn't seem like such a terrible thing to do.

The only time a Republican apologizes is on TV, apologizing for the harm they've caused to their family and loved ones, as they're hauled off to jail.

Winstonfeld is a torture and murder apologist. Awesome.

>> ^Flood:
Winstonfield,
Maybe... just MAYBE... I mean, it might be possible... maybe even highly probable... that when someone supports a single action performed by Obama, then that doesn't imply that this someone automatically supports every action performed by Obama.


Flood, it's not worth your time.

To pennypacker here, anyone who says a nice thing about Obama is a zombie. And anyone who says something negative about Bush has "Bush Derangement Syndrome".

So I take it that your problem is with all politicians rather than Obama himself?

My problem is inconsistency. To see people who pored with microscopes for the tinest reasons to lambaste Bush all of a sudden put a moratorium on intellectual honesty for Obama... That's how I know they're zombies. To preach vigilance, debate, and criticism with one guy, and demand a cease-fire for 'theirs'? If you're intellectually honest you apply the same rigorous standard to EVERYONE. If you don't, then you're a zombie.

I am loyal to no party. I consider all politicians 'the enemy' - persons to be viewed with distrust, suspicion, and wariness. I go in assuming that whatever they're up to is bad, and needs to be stonewalled, limited, or outright rejected at face value. I'm consistent. That's how I know I'm NOT a zombie. I hated Bush's idiotic 'bailout' and I hate Obama's idiotic so-called 'stimulus' passage. I'm willing to call Bush a horrible president, a terrible leader, and a bad steward of the economy for his reckless overspending agenda. Boo. Hiss. Down with Bush! And you know what? Same goes for Obama. It's only been 2 weeks, and he's proving he's as bad as Bush, and he's lining up to be even worse. And some of you think he's a great guy because he apologized for something stupid like this? :eyeroll:

To pennypacker here, anyone who says a nice thing about Obama is a zombie. And anyone who says something negative about Bush has "Bush Derangement Syndrome".

I don't mind people praising or criticizing substance. I hate it when they fixate on idiotic non-issues and use them to paint persons or issues with a broad, brainless brush. Too many people hate Bush for the way he talks, and love Obama because he can make a flowery speech - and that's all they need. Want to criticize Bush? Fine - but criticize substance. You want to praise Obama - fine - but PLEASE praise substance and not vapid idiotic posturing like this faux 'apology'.

[removed]

>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
I am loyal to no party. I consider all politicians 'the enemy' - persons to be viewed with distrust, suspicion, and wariness. I go in assuming that whatever they're up to is bad, and needs to be stonewalled, limited, or outright rejected at face value. I'm consistent. That's how I know I'm NOT a zombie.

I applaud that you are loyal to no party, and while I am not as pessimistic about politicians as you, I can understand your perspective. Though I think you should cut everyone on the sift some slack. I've seen a lot of stereotyping on the sift, where people try to categorize a person as democrat (liberal, lefty, etc) or as republican (conservative, right-wing, etc) based on a single comment to one video. But I've also debated with individuals who have seemed very diametrically opposed to me in one political thread, and then agree with them completely in another political thread.

I think there are more people like you here than you think. People who agree with what they think is right, as opposed to blindly following their favorite party's propaganda.

That's fine, but I sure don't see many people here posting vids blasting Obama and a lot of slobbering over anything he says/does. The proof is in the pudding, and for the most part the sift's pudding is pure, unadulterated, apparently unthinking Obama fanboism. The stimulus package and Obama's propogandistic "Pass it now or DIE!" rhetoric should outrage any person with two brain cells to rub together. Criticism, where art thou? I only wish that Republicans had voted for it, so that when it crashes and burns the economy we as voters would finally have to guts to toss every last one of these bozos into the gutter and get some real fiscal conservatives into power.

Instead I greatly fear that in the next 4 years from now we're going to have: 1. Nationalized health care, 2. Unregulated illegal immigration, 3. Government control over salaries, 4. Nationalized unions on all businesses, 5. Government run banks, 6. Government run mortgages. Like Social Security, once the government nationalizes sectors of the economy it will never go away. At that point it won't matter if Republicans or whoever gets elected. They'll just be different foxes in charge of the same henhouse because no political party is going to voluntarily DECREASE the amount of power and influence they have. Once that happens the only possible next step is revolution and (probably) a subsequent balkanization.

^ I still think you're overly generalizing about people based on the fact that they like certain things about Obama.

I "like" Obama. I like the fact that he is well-spoken and intelligent. I like that he does not show special favoritism to religion and that he focuses more on bringing people to his side rather than insulting those with opposing views. And yes, I still like how he handled himself in the video above. He is diplomatic, and that is important whether he is speaking to foreign leaders or the american public.

However, I do not agree with Obama's fiscal ideas. He is in favor of printing large sums of money to "save" the economy, which has the very real possibility of screwing things up further through forced inflation. You're right in that there are very few true fiscal conservatives in Washington currently, and that bothers me.

There have been plenty of videos posted here of people who are completely opposite of Obama on fiscal policy (Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, etc). A lot of the people who align more with fiscal conservatism still like the fact that Obama isn't an ass about everything, and I don't see a problem with that. If people blindly follow every policy Obama puts out there because they like the way he speaks then yes, that is a problem... but I think there is less of that going on than you assume.

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