A quickie from this morning’s Finance Committee hearing. He made a common mistake, Team Barry assures us. Except that it isn’t true, especially considering that he was reimbursed by the IMF for the taxes he “forgot” to pay. What’s his excuse, then? Simple: He doesn’t have one. Or at least, he didn’t until today, when he kinda sorta blamed … TurboTax. And momentarily sent Intuit’s shares plummeting in the process.

I use TT and pay self-employment tax and have never had a problem, but then I have an incentive to be extra careful: Unlike Geithner, I might face consequences if I make a mistake. Exit question: Should the GOP take Newt’s advice and vote against him? They can’t block him, obviously, so the gesture would be purely symbolic. Do they gain more by standing up for the taxpayer than they lose from appearing obstructionist in the midst of an economic crisis with Obama surfing a wave of Hopenchange goodwill?