There's a lot of ways to measure a good-to-great president. We tend to focus on both their policies and their skill in communicating with the American people, but another key task is the ability to admit mistakes, especially when it was a doozy. Remember JFK and the Bay of Pigs early in his presidency?
And Timothy Geithner as President Obama's Treasury Secretary is looking like another one of these. I don't quite understand why Obama ever thought Geithner would be a good choice -- but his failure to develop a plan that's bold enough to tackle the problem of zombie banks, his staffing problems and his style that doesn't inspire much confidence are all good reasons to show Geithner the exit door before it's too late for the American economy, and, less importantly, Obama's political future.
Here's a good analysis:
The Pentagon ordered the US Navy to apprehend Somalian pirates. However there has been no such 'Counter Piracy Execute Order' from the White House or US Treasury and aimed at Wall St. buccaneers. On the contrary. The US Treasury, like the British government, is capitulating to the pirates of the finance sector with a haste and a timidity that is unseemly, and if I may say so, unmanly.
Britain's government announced yesterday that while it was obliged to take a 65% stake in a 'broke' bank - Lloyds - it was refraining from exercising its full rights. The government would not, for example, use its stake in the bank to give taxpayers full control. Nor would they call for the resignation of CEOs and board members responsible for breaking the bank. Lord Mandelson the Business Minister said this was neither "necessary or desirable".
The US Treasury has set the pattern. While filling the vaults of Wall Street banks with taxpayer-backed funds, Secretary Geithner has refrained from asking for letters of resignation from the board members and CEOs that broke the banks. These banks have used their control over the nation's deposits and savings and over interest rates to hold the whole economy to ransom.
Geithner and his timid, inept policies are a drag on Obama's presidency, a drag on America -- to keep in the pirate analogy, he's a 16-ton anchor. It's not to early to cut him loose (and send Larry Summers out to sea with him) and chart a new course on the banking industry.
I agree with Will that Team Obama has not handled the staffing of the US Treasury situation, and subsequently the financial meltdown, well. I was expecting more.— chasing history- Wish we could say the same about the president.— jwad56
You may as well be asking whether we should save the private banking system (the "timid" UK/Geithner approach) or should we just nationalize it (your "new course")? What other alternatives are there?- Will you should make Dr. Paul Krugman's NYT editorial your headline. He first correctly predicited the subprime mess. He now makes some more bold predictions. My feeling is that if we all dont get on board with how to break the recession and we keep complaining about bailing out banks, then we are headed for depression. As an economist, he is A-political. So all the haters can't say he part of the liberal media for writing editorials for the NYT. This should be fully backed by the media. I doubt it will make one talking head "news" show. But dont take my word read it for yourself: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/opinion/09krugman.html?_r=1&th&emc=th It makes me wonder how messed up things would be right now with the republicans plan of cutting taxes only.— Zues
Comment removed.- I don't see anybody else coming forward with a bold, comprehensive plan to tackle the banking crisis. Maybe there isn't a single, decisive strategy, short of letting the system go kablooey. Now THAT would be bold. My hunch is the least bad option is to have the system limp along and see what works and who works.— SteveMG
- Comment removed.
- OK, Genius just what this country needs, even more debt! WHo needs to pay the govt's bills? We'll just keep stiffing the kids with the bills.— SteveMG
- Republicans loved borrowing money from the Chinese and Saudis to fund their "tax cuts" for the super wealthy! lol.....what a bunch of rubes!— chasing history
- Comment removed.
Yes lets blame the republicans and discuss a tax cut plan that can not happen since both the Congress and White House are controlled by Democrats - much better than discussing why the Treasury Dept appears to have no plan (and no staff) 6 weeks into the administration.— bird11- chasing history how much more taxes do you think you should pay?— jwad56
- Market Watch listed their 10 signs that the market has hit bottom- #3 is: Timothy Geithner is replaced with Paul Volcker. Fairly or not, the market does not have a lot of confidence in Treasury Secretary Geithner, while former Federal Reserve chairman Volcker's "proven abilities in a crisis could play better with investors," the analysts said. Volcker currently heads the Economic Recovery Advisory Board under President Barack Obama.— Molly
- Was never and never will be a fan of either Geithner or Summers. They're both corporate hacks. I was disappointed that Obama gave either of them positions of power (particularly Summers). That said, it's easy to sit back and say that they haven't been bold enough, or whatever, but fact is that the situation just stinks and no one knows what would really work. As much as I don't trust either Summers or Geithner - I don't see how Obama's attempts to deal with the economic crisis reflect a pro-business bias. They have been handed a basically impossible task: rebuilding the economy after it has been completely savaged by years and years of ill-advised policies. When you have productivity fueled by irresponsible borrowing and cheap overseas labor, when you have declining real wages and increasing concentration of wealth among the richest of the super rich, and when you have a banking industry that so central to our economy even as it has regularly and exhaustively engaged in completely unsustainable business practices -- you get what we've got and there's no quick or easy fix.— Talking point sleuth
- jwad56, only what we all paid when Clinton was president, with those idiotic GWB tax breaks left to die the slow, natural death they deserve.— wek
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
E-mail Will by clicking here.
PLEASE COMMENT WITH PASSION...
...but not with racial slurs, potentially libelous allegations, obscenities or other juvenile noise. Such comments will, at our discretion, be deleted in their entirety, and repeat offenders will be blocked from commenting. ALSO: Any commenter advocating killing any government official will be immediately banned.
Thanks.
- Atrios
- Kiko's House
- Suburban Guerilla
- Booman Tribune
- All-Spin Zone
- Philly (Dragonballyee)
- Afro-Netizen
- Rowhouse Logic
- MyDD
- Bad Attitudes
- Billmon
- iFlipFlop
- CorrenteWire
- upyernoz
- Tattered Coat
- Fables of the Reconstruction
- Slacktivist
- Citizen Mom
- The Next Mayor
- Philly Future
- Philadelphia Will Do
- Philebrity
- Young Philly Politics
- Phillyblog
- Welcome to Phillyville
- Phawker
- A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
- Keystone Blog
- Philadelphia - America's Hometown
- BlankBaby
- Above Average Jane
- Phillyist
- Metroblogging Philadelphia
- The Clog
- Josh Marshall
- Daily Kos
- Juan Cole
- Oliver Willis
- Andy Borowitz
- War and Piece
- Wonkette
- BuzzFlash
- Raw Story
- Cursor
- Crooks and Liars
- Swing State Project
- Kevin Drum
- Talk Left
- AmericaBlog
- Hullabaloo
- Mad Kane
- Think Progress
- Jesus' General
- The Carpetbagger Report
- Majikthise
- Echidne of the Snakes
- David Sirota
- Glenn Greenwald
- TBogg
- Fire Dog Lake
- Taylor Marsh
- Matthew Yglesias
- Jon Swift
- Drudge Report
- Beer Leaguer
- The 700 Level
- Dick Polman
- Balls, Sticks and Stuff
- Shallow Center
- Philling Station
- Phillies Nation
- A Citizen's Blog
- The Good Phight
- Romenesko
- Editor and Publisher
- Pressthink
- Buzzmachine
- The Inksniffer
- Media Bloodhound
- Eat the Press
- Mickey Kaus
- Media (Huffington Post)
- Blinq
- The Corner
- Instapundit
- Andrew Sullivan
- Free Republic
- James Taranto
- Blonde Sagacity
- ScrappleFace
- Blogorrhea
- February
- January
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- January 2008
- News | Sports | Business | What's Happening | Restaurants & Food | Entertainment | Living | Marketplace | Jobs
