Tom Daschle - conflict of interest?

Obama's first choice for Health and Human Services and White House Task Force on Health Care Reform was former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle. His nomination was withdrawn when it conflicted with Obama's "no lobbyists" in the WH administration policy and some questionable tax problems.

And a good thing too. Now he's saying that Obama's plan for a public option policy will not pass Congress and he should abandon it.

This comes as a report from the Bipartisan Policy Center, which was formed by former Senate majority leaders Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and Howard Baker. Although the specific health care plan they put forth was funded entirely by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, a non-profit, respected organization that funds educational and health care projects, it is also true that both Daschle and Dole are members of the Alston + Bird law firm that is heavily into lobbying on health care issues for the health care industry itself.

Sam Stein, writing at HuffingtonPost, says:

Neither Dole nor Daschle lobbied on these or any matters. The two former majority leaders have steered away from the lobbying title, with Daschle holding the post of "Special Policy Adviser," and Dole going by "Special Counsel." But the two -- Daschle in particular -- are reportedly used by the firm in a way that resembles lobbying: drawing in clients and helping them chart ways to get their legislative priorities achieved.

As I've said before, Daschle used to seem like an ideal candidate for HHS, but not any more. It's a good thing his appointment was stopped before he had the power of the administration behind his efforts.

Something seems to happen to former politicians when they go into the private sector and make a lot of money. In Daschle's case, I think his obvious change began with the designer red glasses.

Ralph