Obama’s Mea Culpa

Barack Obama looks tense. The brand new U.S. president, who has invariably appeared so impressively confident and cool thus far, is stumbling awkwardly while trying to set up his administration.

On camera, Obama made an extraordinary confession. “I screwed up. And, you know, I take responsibility for it.”

Such candor, with its boyish charm, may disarm many critics. But it’s also why Obama’s mess will not be forgotten for a long time. The president, who went to Washington with a near messianic message of moral change, has been suffering in recent days from his first tough loss of credibility.

It’s been one embarrassment after another as Obama set up his administration. The original nominee for commerce secretary, Bill Richardson, backed out earlier in January over charges of corruption. In addition to Richardson, the designated chief performance officer, Nancy Killefer, and the prospective secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Tom Daschle, have both been criticized for owing back taxes. Several other nominations are very controversial. Former lobbyists are said to be moving into top government jobs, and even the new secretary of the treasury, Timothy Geithner, was forced to admit that he had “forgotten” to pay his taxes in the past.

Jaded political veterans can point out that setbacks like these are naturally a part of the business. Every new U.S. president has to fill hundreds of executive positions in a matter of weeks. Since nothing is overlooked while investigating the nominees, ugly details like once having an illegally employed cleaning lady can surface too late in the process.

With the Obama administration, the gap between routine everyday business and noble aspirations is definitely attracting some very painful attention. This is quite obvious since some of Obama’s explanations are not very convincing.

With Daschle, Obama first stood by his candidate, but then backtracked surprisingly and commented that Daschle bowed out “at his own request.” Nevertheless, Obama went on to accept responsibility for the episode.

Obama promised that under no circumstances would there be any double standards in his administration. His press secretary announced without hesitation that this administration would act ethically like none before. At the same time, however, with the case of the financial expert Geithner, it is already apparent that Obama is definitely very pragmatic and flexible. Having a tax dodger as the treasury secretary during this time of great economic crisis does not bode well for an era of new morals in Washington.