President Barack Obama is taking the blame for mistakes in the handling of a tax controversy that le

(3 Feb 2009) HEADLINE: Obama blames himself for mishandling Daschle --------------------------------------- CAPTION: President Barack Obama is taking the blame for mistakes in the handling of a tax controversy that led Tom Daschle to withdraw his cabinet nomination. The AP's Mark Smith reports that Daschle is one of three Obama appointees with tax issues. (Feb. 3) ---------------------------------------- [Notes:ANCHOR VOICE] ((Daschle from announcement with Obama, then Daschle from hearing)) It's a major blow to a young administration that prides itself on ethics. President Barack Obama's nominee for health secretary, Tom Daschle, has withdrawn after belatedly paying back taxes. ((Killefer from announcement)) AND his choice for the new job of federal performance czar, Nancy Killefer, pulled out over the same issue. ((Obama file, then to interview)) The president called it a self-inflicted injury -- and took personal responsibility. OBAMA SOT: "We can't send a message to the American people that we've got two sets of rules -- one for prominent people and one for ordinary people. So I consider this a mistake on my part, and one that I intend to fix and correct and make sure that we're not screwing up again. " ((Obama file)) In all, THREE top Obama picks have acknowledged not paying the taxes they owed when they owed them. ((File Killefer)) Killefer's problem began with unpaid taxes for domestic help of under $300. ((File Geithner)) Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner belatedly paid more than $34,000 in back taxes, but was still confirmed by the Senate. ((File Daschle)) However, Daschle's bill -- with interest -- topped $140,000. DASCHLE SOT: (apology real short) ((Health care file)) But critics also wondered how Daschle could lead health care reform after earning big fees for consulting and speaking to the industry. ENSIGN SOT: "That just seems disingenuous to me and I don't think passes the smell test."\ ((More Daschle file)) Still, many of the one-time Senate majority leader's former colleagues were stunned, and thought he WOULD have been confirmed. REID SOT: Senator Daschle is like a brother to me. And he made the decision personally to withdraw. ((Obama file)) But others wondered why Obama's vetting process didn't raise a red flag over taxes. SLOAN SOT: "Everybody knows this. Given that, if you want a job in Washington, you've got to pay your taxes." FONT: Melanie Sloan, Executive Director, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ((Standup close)) The bottom line here is that the president must start from scratch on two key appointments. And an administration that SEEMED to have such a smooth beginning has suddenly hit it first stretch of bumpy road. MS, AP, WH Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...