What forced him out

Pretty much every press agency discussed and criticized President Obama for keeping Daschle as HHS Sec. despite the new facts that have burst into the scene. It's true that Daschle is highly experienced and very knowledgeable on passing bills in Congress, but it does not make sense to appoint a cabinet member who violates the ethics you created especially when you've promised ethics reform and established new ethics rules for a more "transparent" White House. Yesterday, of course, the Obama administration's response to this controversy was pretty dry and not meaningful. So what changed his mind to stay?

Two main things forced him to withdraw:

1. Another member, the Chief Performance Officer withdrew her nomination also because of tax issues before Daschle did which perhaps pushed Daschle over the edge to make the decision to withdraw.
2. This morning the New York Times editorial asking for Daschle's withdrawal was read by Daschle himself. The editorial spoke on behalf of the New York Times as a whole. The editorial's update then says that he "did the right thing."