Newspapers Examine Govs. Sebelius, Bredesen As Possible HHS Secretary Nominees

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) "is near the top of President Barack Obama's list of candidates" to be HHS secretary, "at least partially on the strength of her long and close working relationship" with President Obama, the Kansas City Star reports. According to the Star, other potential nominees "remain in the mix," including chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton John Podesta (Kansas City Star, 2/9).

Obama also is considering Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) for the position, the AP/Austin American-Statesman reports. According to the AP/American-Statesman, "Few governors know the pitfalls of soaring health costs better than" Bredesen. As governor, Bredesen reduced the state's Medicaid beneficiaries by 170,000 adults in 2005 as a result of budget constraints, and reduced benefits for thousands more TennCare beneficiaries.

Critics of Bredesen, who say he has administered the largest public health insurance cuts in U.S. history, say that the cuts illustrate why he is "the wrong person to lead an effort to expand health insurance coverage." However, proponents of his nomination "say Bredesen's stand shows he's willing to tackle the toughest of problems," the AP/American-Statesman reports. Some of Bredesen's critics are supporting Sebelius as HHS secretary (Freking/Schelzig, AP/Austin American-Statesman, 2/10). According to the Star, a "decision is not imminent" (Kansas City Star, 2/9).

Bredesen Defends Record
Bredesen on Monday "offered an aggressive defense of his health care record," The Politico reports. In an interview with The Politico, Bredesen said that he was "not campaigning for" the HHS secretary position, but said that he had told Obama in 2007 that he was willing to help with health care reform.

Responding to criticism regarding the cuts to TennCare, Bredesen said, "When I [came] in as governor, I inherited a [complete] disaster," adding, "TennCare was on the brink of collapse and was eating up every dime of all new revenue coming [in to] the state. It had a completely open-ended benefit structure." He added that TennCare had to be cut to balance the state budget. Supporters of Bredesen also have attempted to counter his critics. A group of pediatricians in Tennessee sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel touting Bredesen's record, adding that without the TennCare cuts, "there would be little or no Medicaid of any type available to the pregnant women and children of Tennessee" (Martin, The Politico, 2/9).

Opinion Pieces

• Mona Charen, Washington Times: Although during his inaugural address Obama "promised to initiate a 'new era of responsibility,'" these "heights were to be scaled following a successful campaign to transcend the 'old politics' of Washington, D.C.," syndicated columnist Charen writes. She continues, "If responsibility means anything, it means being accountable for one's behavior," adding that Obama had four Cabinet nominees, including former HHS Secretary-designate and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who ended up revealing "ethical clouds." Charen continues, "Until the evening before Mr. Daschle's withdrawal, President Responsibility had stood behind him"; however, following Daschle's withdrawal, Obama "acknowledged he had 'screwed up,' and that there cannot be two different standards, 'one for prominent people' and another 'for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes.'" Before Daschle's failure to pay taxes was made public, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's failure to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes was made public. According to Charen, "A number of observers believe that if Mr. Daschle had been named first, he would be holding his post and Mr. Geithner would have been the one to bow out rather than the reverse" (Charen, Washington Times, 2/10).
  
  
• Cokie Roberts/Steven Roberts, New Haven Register: Although it "might be true" that Daschle's mistakes on his taxes were "inadvertent," his "case is disappointing," according to the syndicated columnists. They continue that when Daschle left Congress, "money apparently turned his head." They write, "Daschle was an excellent choice to head health care reform," as he "knows the players on the Hill and in the private sector and understands the key issues," adding that his "departure is a real loss." According to the authors, "Obama has to bear some of the blame," as he denounced lobbyists during his presidential campaign to win votes, despite knowing that "'Washington lobbyists' like Daschle are often the most knowledgeable and effective people in town." They add that Obama "knew he would need them in his administration." The authors conclude, "Daschle made a stupid mistake" but "he was a top-notch mechanic, and he might have survived if Obama had been more candid with the voters about Washington insiders" (Roberts/Roberts, New Haven Register, 2/9).