Was Daschle irreplaceable?
On the tax issue, I suspect this from a young supporter at his alma mater was Mr Obama's thinking too.
And if the supporter is right that Mr Daschle was irreplaceable, then the administration has taken a big, big hit, to an extent un-noticed because of the many other things going on. It is genuinely possible that health reform went down the Swannee with Mr Daschle.
This looks a little over the top but the problems go on.
And there is no doubt now that life has become permanently trickier for the 44th president.
You see it at the press briefing, where the amiable Robert Gibbs is under increasing pressure, and you see it with the stimulus bill, which may or may not be approved in the Senate within hours: what is fascinating is that opponents are not being cowed even by this president in his pomp.
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