The XX Factor: What women really think.

The Nanny-Tax Follies Know No Gender

Emily, sorry, but I gotta say that the idea that a sex-based double-standard constitutes a theme of the endlessly entertaining Obama Administration Tax Follies is ridiculous. This was all timing, timing, timing. Three officially makes a trend, and Nancy Killefer had the misfortune of being the third Obama-ite to turn up with an outstanding bill to the IRS. (And Killefer did doom Tom Daschle—not, I assume, in order to make the punishment evenly distributed by sex, but because her prompt withdrawal made it OK to contend that no, not everybody has tax problems, and yes, they can be considered a disqualifier for Cabinet service in the new Obama era.)

Is the Nanny Tax Different for the Goose Than for the Gander?

When Nancy Killefer withdrew her nomination for chief White House performance officer this morning over unpaid nanny taxes, I got outraged e-mails screaming double-standard. Tim Geithner gets away with his tax mess-ups, which included a nanny-related screw-up, but Killefer doesn't? And what about Tom Daschle and his chauffered car?

But now Daschle's nomination is sunk, too. Is that evenhanded enough for us? Does it matter that Geithner's nanny tax troubles were of a pretty minor and technical variety (his kids' baby-sitter overstayed her visa for a short period)? And did Geithner just get lucky because his confirmation came first? Or is Kilefer's fate proof that unpaid nanny taxes trip up women seeking higher office more than men?