It's like rain on Tom Daschle's wedding day

The former Senate majority leader was already embarrassed by his tax problems; an old campaign ad that's just resurfaced isn't helping.

Published February 3, 2009 5:25PM (EST)

If you're ever thinking about going into politics, you should probably take a lesson from the experience of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle: Don't ever produce a campaign advertisement bragging about your car, even if the point you're making is that the car is old and a little broken down. It will only come back to haunt you.

Daschle, currently President Obama's nominee to be secretary of Health and Human Services, has been taking heat lately over his failure to pay $128,000 in taxes arising from his use of a car and driver provided to him by a major Democratic donor. Now, his problems have been exacerbated by an old campaign ad that's just resurfaced.

The spot, which you can see below, contains this narration: "Among Washington's BMW's and limos is this -- since 1971, the old Pontiac has served its owner well. Sure, it's rusted, and it burns a little oil, but after 15 years and 238,000 miles, Tom Daschle still drives his old car to work every day... Isn't it too bad that the rest of Washington doesn't understand that a penny saved is a penny earned?"

Ironic... don't you think?


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

MORE FROM Alex Koppelman


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