Obama: ‘I screwed up’
03 February 2009 8:08 pm by Taylor Marsh
Yeah, not a great day for team change.
“Today was an embarrassment for us,” Obama said. He said he was “angry,” “disappointed” and “frustrated with myself” over the Daschle episode.
[...] The dual-withdrawal fiasco is “something I have to take responsibility for,” Obama told Williams.
“I appointed these folks. I think they are outstanding people. I think Tom Daschle, as an example, could have led this health care effort, a difficult effort, better than just about anybody. But as he acknowledged, it was a mistake. I don’t think it was intentional on his part, but it was a serious mistake. He owned up to it and ultimately made a decision that we couldn’t afford the distraction.”
Obama added, “I’ve got to own up to my mistake. Ultimately, it’s important for this administration to send a message that there aren’t two sets of rules, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes.”
At least he can admit his mistakes. Bush never would admit to a mistake.
geez, my picture must have scared everyone away.
Is that you Betsy luv?? Jolie blond. I go away for a few hours to nap and the place blows up. Looks like I missed the cocktail hour.
LOL Ice, that’s me.
By the way, where are you. Are you in CA?
Hey! I just registered, I’ve been lurking since Jan of 07′. (I know what took so long)
Great new site Taylor!
How do you post the oics for the avatar?!
Hey all. I don’t think that’s enough, Betsy. Being able to admit a foreseeable mistake, while giving him props and linking the comparison to Bush is the problem.
Actually, it ties in with the stimulus optics issue as well. Republicans beat Obama and the Dems out of the gate on framing. “Democrat spending bill” became the umbrella under which this whole thing got tagged.
It’s a matter of footing and perception. Obama and his team slipped up on both.
daubry says:
03 February 2009 at 9:40 pm
Welcome!
Gergen just said it is something that he hasn’t seen since Kennedy and the bay of pigs. By that I mean his statement “I screwed up”.
Secular, go to Wordpress.com and sign up. Then click on Gravatar and you can either have a pic of yourself or of one of theirs. I chose myself.
Oh and welcome Daubry.
Betsy- San Diego in fact but I am more of Palm Springs kind of guy and hopefully my partner and I will be buying a house out there if the prices keep doing what they are doing. There are some killer mid century modern properties out there going for a song.
Daubry- welcome.
Ice, my son and his partner bought a mid century house in SF when the dot coms went belly up there and they stole it from the guy who owned it. He needed to get out so they bought it for a song.
Taylor, did I hear today that Obama told congress to cut the frills out of the package. I thought I heard that on MSNBC.
Betsy- I am gaga for mid century modern weather it be homes or furniture. My house looks straight out of the 60’s. It’s a rare time indeed. MCM homes usually go for half a million or more depending on how fixed up they are. We are finding them below that mark.
Houses right now are dirt cheap if you can find them. We are buying a VA repo for our son. He’s a single dad and credit isn’t good enough in this economy so we are buying it and letting him make the payments. I’ve never seen so many homes in foreclosure here. But with another 3500 soldiers coming to Ft. Carson I’m sure that won’t be the case for long.
I have to agree with you Taylor.
He knew about this weeks before his nomination, did he just think it would vanish?
At the end of the day I found the loud drumbeat for Hillary and her vetting process (in which she and Bill were more than transparent and helpful) unnecessary to a degree, while others (Daschle, Richardson, and Nancy) slipped under the radar from the vetting process.
All in all, this could have been avoided.
Betsy says:
03 February 2009 at 10:10 pm
I know he said he wanted the “buy America” provision be stripped, because, as he put it, he didn’t want to send the message of protectionism.
And thank you for the greetings, Taylor, Betsy and Ice!
I’m really glad I stopped being a lurker as Taylor calls them!
You have to jump right in daubry and if people don’t agree with you they will tell you. There’s one that comes here that I think is a “latent republican” and we are always giving that person a really hard time.
Daubryy -you couldn’t be more right about the vetting process of the Clintons but than again the information was out there for any to take a gander at had they bothered to look. The hand wringing was offensive to me.
Betsy- brand new homes in a MCM developement out in Desert Hot Springs that were built in 2005 but failed to sell are going for under 200k. There are some deals to be had if you can get a loan that is.
taylor
its time for obama to take charge and govern. this s a damn circus. the stim bill has little for jobs. its not bold or imaginative. obama’s folks arent out there countering the gop on tv every take. instead they are professing they’re agreement that the gop has great ideas. america demands leadership right now. voters wont care in 2 yrs how muh this bill was ompromised for the gop. they will only care to see them get work and a good life again. im sick of it-2 weeks in.
You are so right Ice. Our daughter is a trauma nurse in SF and I keep telling her that she should buy a house right now. She’s too scared because she works for SF General which is a city hospital and she says the city is broke so she’s afraid she’ll get laid off. Personally I think she’s safe since there’s a shortage of nurses. She said if she did buy it would be a loft downtown.
Haha.
Thanks Betsy, this primary season and election season was a blast for me as it was the first time I was eligible to vote.
And also because my two bosses are republicans (at work we listen to right-wing radio), as is my sister and her husband (thanksgiving is a blast) so I’m used to differing opinions.
texan4hillary says:
03 February 2009 at 10:57 pm
Did you hear his interview on CNN. Cooper Anderson interviewed him and it was a very good interview. I disagree with you, it’s not a circus. He needs to get with the dems and tell them to get serious.
Texan,
Unfortunately, we’re stuck is “Bi-Partisan” mode.
the nyt didnt take out daschle. the people did. reich and others said that hill staffers were flooded with calls by enraged voters about daschle and geithner. people are hurting and daschle hurt the president and the public did what its supposed to-tell their repps to cut the guy loose. sad they even had to!
Wow daubry you must have really had fun. But I understand about talk radio because here in Colorado Springs all we can get is the right wing radio talk shows. And of course we have the fundamental Christians here, i.e. Focus on the Family with Dobson. It’s a beautiful place to live, just lousy for centrist or liberal views. Although I must say that Obama pulled 40% out of this county which was great for a democrat.
Yes, it was such a blast. I remember the look on my bosses face on Super-Tuesday with my “Hot for Hillary shirt”.
*Priceless*
daubry says:
03 February 2009 at 11:02 pm
I agree with you daubry, but I think that he’s setting up the repubs and they bit. Had they been bi-partisan it would have been fine, but he proved they don’t care about the American people.
besty i agree. time to get serious. real serious and get defend the stim bill.the dems must learn to govern and not wimp out. when the gop shouts take out family planning for poor women the dems should say-like pelosi did-we won. dont concede a thing. in fact-put more in for jobs-lots more than currently. we won. its our time and demcoratic economic polciies work for the economy-not gop tax cuts.
Betsy,
maybe that’s true, I actually hadn’t looked at it that way.
Well, I just think he was willing to give them a chance. But they’ve done what they typically do, be very partisan. And I love the fact that they are worried about Holder. I hope they prosecute Bush, Cheney and Rummy. Or at least give them a damn good scare.
I also think Obama really has a calming effect on people. Not at all like Bush who was so damn arrogant. I think we’re in a good place guys, we need to just be calm and hope that things settle down and there isn’t so much chaos as there has been the last week. I’m upset that Daschle let this get this far. And from what I understand Obama really was upset with his vetting team. And it’s too bad because Daschle was perfect for the job.
Well,I’m going to call it a night and get some sleep. Cya all tomorrow.
Nite Betsy!
Nite Betsy. I think Obama and the staff needs to get things in hand and quick. I know it’s only two weeks into his administration but he needs to grow a pair and quick. A lot of folks are loosing patience. I think he’s wasting entirely to much time on the Republican who after their recent losses are not up to mounting much opposition.
What I find astonishing about this is that the reasons cited for Daschle’s withdrawal have nothing to do with the fact that he’s literally made millions representing the same industries to the government that he would have been helping to regulate as SecHHS. One of the big problems in DC is the revolving door, and if there are more Republicans spinning through it than Democrats, it sure isn’t a lot more.
To me, while the taxes issue is important, how Daschle earned the money he should have paid taxes for is quite another.
obama is great on tv. but we need a whole team out there every day fighting with a message on his agenda. poltiics 101. fdr brought real change without a republican vote. remember that.
Too many of the Dems are not supporting the Stim Bill, are talking it down and whining. Add in the Repugs and it looks like the new Presidency hasn’t got a clue.
If it were not for a handful, the Repugs would look like the leaders.
I am sickened.
The “stimulus” bill is not popular with the public. Support is dropping according to the latest Gallup poll. Today, Reid acknowledged that he doesn’t have the votes to pass it.
Take out the red pen and start rewriting.