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How will Tom Daschle’s decision to withdraw his name from consideration for Health & Human Services secretary affect President Obama’s plans for healthcare reform? And who will the president find to replace Daschle, both at HHS and as director of the new White House Office of Health Reform?

The Washington Post reported that the Obama administration was at a loss following Daschle’s withdrawal. Daschle was already becoming the public face of healthcare reform for the administration, attending community healthcare discussion groups during the presidential transition period and working to mobilize grass-roots support for reform. David Axelrod, the president’s senior adviser, was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “There was no Plan B.”

Outside the administration, speculation on potential successors began immediately. Jeanne Lambrew, who is already serving as the deputy director of the White House health reform office, has been identified as a logical replacement as the office's director. The New Republic notes that she has already been doing much of the heavy lifting for the office.

Many more names have been suggested for HHS secretary. The Wall Street Journal’s Health  Blog offered a round-up of current and former governors, including Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, and former Oregon governor John Kitzhaber. Also on the list is former Vermont governor Howard Dean, a one-time physician whose name was being circulated for the position before Daschle was tapped for the job. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) was named in Forbes.com as a choice who would combine Daschle’s legislative experience and healthcare expertise (a healthcare reform plan he wrote two years ago “received applause from the wonk world,” Forbes notes). The Baltimore Sun also looked to members of Congress, including Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), as well as Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Ct.). The Sun also named Mark McClellan, who has served both as CMS head and as FDA administrator.

While Daschle’s withdrawal was seen as a big setback to the administration, healthcare reform is by no means dead in the water. The New York Times noted that Congressional Democrats may now “have more running room to shape a health care plan to their liking.” And the Chicago Tribune, calling for Daschle’s withdrawal in a Feb. 3 op-ed, refuted the notion that Daschle was indispensable to reform. President Obama, the paper observed, “might keep in mind the wisdom of Charles de Gaulle, who noted that the graveyards are full of indispensable men.”