I’m still reporting but what I’ve heard jibes with what’s come out in the last couple of hours: That Daschle made the decision to go himself after the New York Times op-ed and the sense that the opposition could grow and not diminish over the next week. No one in the administration wanted to talk him out of it but they weren’t going to pull the plug either. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Congressional liasion Phil Schilero had all been making calls on Daschle’s behalf through yesterday and Daschle’s apologetic tone seemed to help. Still, White House officials knew that the story was likely to get worse next week when Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is scheduled to announce more detailed plans for bailing out the financial industry. That is likely to once again raise the issue of executive compensation. “Those aren’t good atmospherics to be discussing free limo rides,” said one Democrat close to the White House.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=146363