Political Perceptions: Tom Daschle’s Rave Reviews

President-elect Barack Obama’s likely choice of Tom Daschle for Secretary of Health and Human Services is getting pretty good reviews. “It’s hard to imagine a more useful ally for Obama to help lead his bid for health-care reform, both because of Daschle’s understanding of the legislative process and for his belief in the new President-elect. His years on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Medicare and Medicaid programs, will also serve him well at HHS,” writes Time.com’s Karen Tumulty . “An early backer of Obama’s campaign, the soft-spoken Daschle was invaluable in helping bring aboard some of the Democratic establishment to back him against the formidable Hillary Clinton . When Senator Edward Kennedy decided to endorse the freshman Senator, he called Daschle, not Obama, to deliver the news,” Tumulty writes. Plus “There is some speculation that health-care reform in the Obama Administration will have to take a back seat to fixing the economy. Daschle has argued ... (link)