Well, I never thought I’d see the day when I’d actually appreciate something written by Arianna Huffington, but her post excerpted below on Timothy Geithner is a must read – bet she wishes she’d backed Hillary in the primary…
Now if only President Obama would get the word about his tax-challenged man in the Treasury Dept.:
Arianna Huffington: Geithner: Unable to Escape His Wall Street Weltanschauung
Tim Geithner's actions throughout his career, including his time as Treasury Secretary, are proof that the toxic thinking that got us into this mess is part of his DNA. That's why every proposal he comes up with is déjà vu all over again -- a remixed variation on the same tried-and-failed let-the-bankers-work-it-out approach championed by his predecessor, Hank Paulson. Geithner's Masters of the Universe, the people he still thinks are the ones we should turn to to save the day, are the same people who brought us here. And that is why Geithner either needs to go or keep his job but have his authority stripped and transferred to someone who does not share his Wall Street Weltenschauung. Use any window dressing you want, just take the steering wheel out of Geithner's hands.
Arianna, my dear....
ReplyDeleteHa can't take the wheel. He still has training wheels on his two wheeler for chrissakes. And he hasn't had his "drivers ed" yet.
And... to think... had it not been for pinheaded pundits like you... WE COULD HAVE HAD A CLINTON at the wheel.
I watched Mr. Geitner's confirmation hearings. I was left wondering why this man was ever nominated for the job in the first place. Then I read his written answers to the questions given him by the chair of the committee. There were many one-sentence answers. He didn't appear to have a strong grasp of the issues before him. I have no more confidence in him today than I did during those hearings. I have to ask myself ~ why was this person appointed and then confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury? The first thing that comes to mind for me is payback. What did he do to win this prize? What is the angle here, because it simply cannot be that he is the best person for the job. If that is the case, we are in a world of trouble here. Personally, I would like to see a grown-up as treasury secretary.
ReplyDeleteHi Becky,
ReplyDeleteI'm not clear on the details at this point, but I read somewhere that Timmy's parents and Barack's mother knew each other in Indonesia - a family connection.
Hi SYD,
ReplyDeleteGood one! Yep. That's gotta be the case. Those darned training wheels. And we've got the punditry to thank for a lot of this mess.