It is said that the true test of integrity is not what you do when others are watching, but rather what you do when no one is watching. My friend tells the story of a second-grader who finds a $20 bill in the school yard and turns it in to the principal. It was the right thing to do. The second-grader probably did not expect any great fanfare over her act of integrity. Even so, she was treated to lunch as the principal’s companion of the day.

Sunday night after the Super Bowl game, I was still charged up and decided to go online to check out the top news stories of the day. President Obama’s economic stimulus bill was overshadowed by two of his cabinet nominees’ failure to pay taxes.

OK vetting, schmetting. Sure a nominee for high office should be vetted, but nominees of integrity should make sure nothing incriminating will be discovered when they are tapped to serve in this way. They know the rules. Lord knows there are plenty of examples of what happens in such cases.

As I read the updates on the situation, I silently hoped that President Obama, the man who promised change and open government, would not hang onto a tarnished nominee for the wrong reason. The reported amount of money -- leading to the fall of Nancy Killefer, who dropped out of the race for confirmation due to her neglect to pay payroll taxes for a household employee, and Daschle’s self-proclaimed oversight in paying taxes for using a friend’s chauffeur and car service -- totals just under $129,000. That is not a huge amount, but the amount is not the point. It is what the act of not paying taxes represents.

Frankly, that Daschle “self-reported his back taxes, admitted to making a mistake and rectified the situation,” smacks of doing the right thing only when it might come to light. And for his part, President Obama admitting to “screwing up” in undermining his own ethical standards by pushing the appointment is a bit troubling. Not paying taxes is more than political trouble, it is unlawful.

We, the people, hunger for honesty and integrity from our elected officials. That is our entitlement. President Obama is duty-bound to avoid such pitfalls. The people he recruits to help him run the nation’s business must be honor-bound and above reproach.

That is the way you get to have lunch with principal.