President Barack Obama’s supporters – of which I am one – ought not to allow our enthusiasm to cloud our personal judgment. Those few (out of approximately thirty-four) cabinet and other nominees who have failed to pay taxes of whatever kind and stripe are embarrassments and rightfully have withdrawn, although Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner got in amid criticism in the U.S. Senate. There has been much public attention in recent years to “nannygate” and other tax issues. Common people struggling to make ends meet, including paying taxes, are left to wonder if these “paid late” taxes would ever have been paid absent the vetting process for high office. The President has accepted responsibility for these goofs. He and the country will move on. He ought to know, however, we expect better from him in the future.
