Daschle’s departure was summarized this way by the White House press spokesman:

Robert Gibbs told reporters Tuesday, “The bar that we set is the highest that any administration in the country has ever set.”

Wrong, wrong, wrong. That’s not how you do it. You get Obama to take credit for killing the Daschle nomination. You leak that Obama called up Daschle and told him to walk the plank. You leak that Killefer got the same rough treatment. And then you leak that Obama is replacing the team doing the background checks.

That’s what Machiavelli would do, because it sends a message that everyone will respect. Gibbs’ statement undermines the president.