Shalala Staying Put

Vintage Shalala

When the Herald reported yesterday that Donna Shalala might be returning to D.C. to take the reigns once again at the Department of Health and Human Services after Tom Daschle scampered off with his Sally Jesse Raphael glasses and tax mess, we kind of thought it smelled funny. First, nobody else was mentioning her name. Second, there was no source for the rumor.

Anyway, Shalala has flat-out denied the rumors and says there's "no chance."

Which is kind of a bummer, because Obama could use someone with real experience. It also looks like Howard Dean, a medical doctor and former Vermont governor, won't be getting the nomination because he is seen as too partisan. Whatever. Obama will probably go with some career politician such as Sebilus or Granholm, who have no in-depth experience in health care but would be easy enough to get confirmed.

So anyway, there's the end of that largely baseless 24-hour political rumor. Probably.