I think the calculation that many Senate Republicans made was that whoever Obama nominated to replace Geithner would have been far worse from a policy perspective. In a time of economic crisis, when the wrong Treasury Secretary could be disastrous for our country, they decided to take the best nominee they could.

The problem is that now, when the next nominee comes up with these kinds of issues, there will be a “Geithner precedent.” And if it’s a woman or a minority, they will argue that you gave the white guy from Wall Street a pass. And that will weaken their hand in opposing someone who might not only have failed to pay their taxes, or employed an illegal nanny, but also have dangerous policy ideas.