Tom Daschle Named Secretary of Blagojevich and Blago Services

Poor Tom Daschle. It's bad enough getting your thunder stolen, but while you're wearing your Sally Jesse Raphael glasses? Not cool.

At a press conference today, Obama announced that Daschle will head the Dept. of Health and Human Services (on a good day, I'm asleep halfway through that title), and will head an Office of Health care Reform along with Dr. Jeanne Lambrew, who is not the inventor of the world's grossest malt beverage. Via email:

CHICAGO – Today, President-elect Barack Obama nominated former Senator Tom Daschle as Secretary of Health and Human Services and named him the Director of a new White House Office of Health Reform. Dr. Jeanne Lambrew, who authored a book about health care reform with Daschle, will serve as Deputy Director of the White House Office of Health Reform.

This new White House office will coordinate efforts within the Administration, the Congress and across the country to pass health care reform. In his two roles, Daschle will not only implement the President's vision for health care at the Department of Health and Human Services, but also have the responsibility of leading health care reform. He will be the White House's voice on this critical issue.

As Liza noted, the real purpose of that press conference was for reporters to bombard Obama with questions about Rod Blagojevich.

This is a shame, sort of. While Blagojevich has given us all something to write about again (although his name is too frakking long by half), it is also a distraction from the work at hand for the incoming administration. Health care is a major component of that.

Maybe Daschle should have said, "I am honored that this mother f***er named me to this post..."