The Democrats can probably force through Daschle. But why would they want to? This could be one of those battles that’s more costly if you win. With Geithner and Daschle in prominent positions in the Obama administration–and Charlie Rangel heading Ways and Means–Democrats will have saddled themselves with three prominent symbols of non-compliance with tax laws at the same time they will eventually have to push for higher taxes. And as any journalist knows, three makes a trend. Geithner/Daschle/Rangel will be perfect foils for the kind of small-government populism I wrote about here.