Nominees and double standards

Boston Globe - By Joan Vennochi - Jan. 18, 2009

A WOMAN with Timothy Geithner's baggage would have a tough time surviving the nomination process for US Treasury secretary. Geithner - who, as President-elect Barack Obama's choice to head the Treasury Department, would also oversee the Internal Revenue Service - failed to pay $34,000 in federal taxes ($43,200 with interest). He also employed an illegal immigrant in his home.
A list compiled by the Associated Press reveals a string of women who were forced to withdraw as candidates for top Cabinet posts because of arguably less-severe problems.
The most prominent case involved corporate lawyer Zoe Baird, President Bill Clinton's first choice for attorney general in 1993. She was forced to withdraw after it was disclosed that she employed two illegal immigrants to provide nanny services and didn't pay the required Social Security taxes for them. She couldn't enforce the law if she didn't follow it, it was argued. Story continues...