A Ray of Hope from the Oval Office

Buried in yesterday's stories about the withdrawal of Thomas Daschle as President Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the withdrawal of Nancy Killefer from consideration for the newly-created Chief Performance Officer position, was something you don't normally see when things go sideways: Someone admitting that they had made the mistake.

Usually, when things go wrong in government, the military, or in business circles, about the closest we get to someone -- anyone -- owning-up is the statement: "Mistakes were made." It is more an acknowledgement of the obvious than the acceptance of responsibility.

But yesterday, for all the world to hear, President Obama admitted that he had made a mistake in nominating two persons with serious federal income tax issues for high government positions. (Click here for the full article.)

"Did I screw up in this situation? Absolutely. I'm willing to take my lumps," the President told NBC's Brian Williams, in a television interview that aired on Tuesday.

The candidate of hope has given America reason to hope that its leaders will not only be as accountable to the law as the rest of us, but that when things go awry -- as they will from time to time -- the person responsible will own-up.