Too many Senate Republicans are turning tail rather than demanding concrete answers to obvious ethical questions from three of President Barack Obama’s most important cabinet picks. Have these GOPers forgotten the difference between having an open mind – a good thing – and lying down like doormats?

The three nominees who merited far more serious scrutiny were Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, and Timothy Geithner – respectively, for Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Secretary of the Treasury. Clinton was approved Wednesday after receiving kid-glove treatment from her former Senate colleagues. Holder’s confirmation seems on a glide path, thanks to Republicans cowering after Democrats rebuffed Sen. Arlen Specter, the Judiciary Committee’s top minority member. Specter wanted a mere two witnesses to be subpoenaed before Holder moved forward. Geithner’s confirmation appears on track after he explained away his failure to pay four years worth of federal taxes as the fault of Turbo Tax, the online tax preparation outfit. Apparently, “Turbo Tax did it” now replaces “the dog ate it” in the pantheon of excuses.