COVERITLIVE.COM

10:03

John Marelius - We have some breaking news this morning: Tom Daschle just withdrew his nomination to be secretary of health and human services. The Obama stimulus package passed the House on a party-line vote. Senate Republicans want changes which Obama says are only "very modest" differences. So lots to talk about. Let's get started.

10:04

SignOnLiveChatModerator - John, could you briefly explain the controversy surrounding Daschle's nomination?

10:06

John Marelius - Daschle owed $140,000 in back taxes and interest. While that caused him some uncomfortable moments in his confirmation hearings, the controversy didn't seem serious enough to derail his confirmation. His withdrawal was announced about 20 minutes ago, so I haven't yet seen any explanation as to why he pulled the plug.

10:08

SignOnLiveChatModerator - John, how much of an impact will this have on President Obama?

10:09

John Marelius - I think this is a pretty big blow. Daschle was to have a much larger portfolio than just a Cabinet secretary. He was to oversee the development of Obama's health care plan and shepherd it through Congress. I doubt Obama has a ready second choice waiting in the wings.

10:11

SignOnLiveChatModerator - John, I would think Cabinet nominees would be vetted before having their names submitted to Congress. It seems this issue should not have been a surprise. Have you heard how this slipped by the Obama team?

10:13

John Marelius - Not really. They moved very quickly in getting a Cabinet in place -- much faster than any other transition team. They got a lot of praise for it at the time. This may be part of the downside of moving so fast, that the vetting process wasn't as thorough as it might otherwise have been.

10:14

SignOnLiveChatModerator - Why did they hurry with the nominations? Obama's transition team has had the same amount of time to pick a Cabinet as every administration since Truman.

10:16

John Marelius - One slight correction: George W. Bush lost more than a month of his transition because of the Florida fiasco. As for Obama, they simply wanted to hit the ground running. I think it was essential to get the economic team and the foreign policy team in place well in advance of the inauguration, but if the premise of your question is that there wasn't such an urgency with some of these other appointments, you're probably right.

10:19

SignOnLiveChatModerator - The following video from Dec. 11 when Obama announced the nomination of Daschle:

10:22

SignOnLiveChatModerator - John, why did Obama choose Sen. Judd Gregg for Commerce Secretary? How common is a bipartisan Cabinet?

10:25

John Marelius - Almost every president has at least one Cabinet secretary from the other party, but usually they're in non-ideological posts. The lone Bush administration Democrat was Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta. The main job of a transportation secretary is pouring concrete, so it doesn't much matter what party he's from. Obama promised a bipartisan administration and is following through. The Republican appointments so far have been rather token in that Defense Secretary Robert Gates is actually an independent who registered Republican when he joined the Bush administration. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was one of the more liberal Republicans in Congress. Gregg is different. He's a mainstream conservative and a big advocate of tax cuts and free trade. It's often the commerce secretary's main job to be a public advocate for the administration's economic policies, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

10:33

SignOnLiveChatModerator - Obama's choices for his Cabinet have been interesting. He has chosen a number of highly driven individuals who at times have pursued their own agendas. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is just one example. Is conflict inherent among his nominees, or will they be able to put aside their egos and work together on Obama's priorities?

10:36

John Marelius - There's always conflict within administrations, but it's too soon to know where it will be in this one. But Obama has always said he wanted a lot of strong-willed people with divergent opinions in the room and judging from the appointments he's made, he's got them. As far as Clinton, I'm sure it was in the back of Obama's mind that if things go as far south for him as they did for Jimmy Carter that he's vulnerable to a Democratic primary challenge in 2012, he's taken his strongest rival out of the way.

10:46

SignOnLiveChatModerator - Michael Steele was elected chairman of the Republican Party. His choice, to me, seems to indicate a break from the past and a desire among the GOP to move the party in a new direction. Is that correct? What do you think his election means for Lincoln's party?

10:48

John Marelius - I wouldn't read too much into it. Political party chairman are mostly functionaries whose job it is to raise money and keep the party machinery oiled. Steele's election could be significant in that all Republican chairmen talk about broadening the base of the party and reaching out to minorities. He seems to actually mean it. And if the Republican Party is to remain a viable institution, it's something that it has to do.

10:50

SignOnLiveChatModerator - Below is a clip from MSNBC annoucing Daschle's decision to withdraw.

10:51

[Comment From Elizabeth Davis]
Why no mention of potential inflation in stimulus package debate?

10:51

John Marelius - There's been some discussion of possible inflation around the edges. But the main debate has been consumed by the merits of spending, and what kind of spending, or tax cuts.

10:55

John Marelius - To follow on your question, Elizabeth, the concern about inflation points out one of the interesting issues about the debate over the stimulus package. I've been researching polling data for a story on this and when you just ask people if they support a large stimulus package a considerable majority says yes. Support begins falling off pretty quickly when you get into details and potential consequences. The polls also show that while people support the package, they don't have much confidence in government to get it right.

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