CHALLENGED (title changed due to bedwetter outcry)

[Gaspar]

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent the dollar tumbling with comments about China's ideas for overhauling the global monetary system, only to drive it back up by affirming that it should remain the world's reserve currency.

Geithner was initially asked at a Council on Foreign Relations event in New York about proposals from People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan for a new international reserve currency. He said "as I understand his proposal, it's a proposal designed to increase the use of the IMF's special drawing rights. And we're actually quite open to that."

After the stupid stupid gaffe, moderator Roger Altman told Geithner that it would be "useful" to return to the question, and asked if he foresaw a change in the dollar's centrality.

Then he continued with this jewel: "We will do what's necessary to say we're sustaining confidence in our financial markets."

Why doesn't this guy have a teleprompter?  Somebody get him a teleprompter, a cue card or something.  Perhaps he could write on his hand with a Sharpie or something.  No wonder the flashing red box in TurboTax was a mystery to this guy.



It's going to be a big week for Saturday Night Live.

[USRufnex]

Good thread title there, Gas... in fact,  a good percentage of conservative chattering class talking points can be boiled down to simple name calling and ad hominem personal attacks... kudos.

[Gaspar]

Good thread title there, Gas... in fact,  a good percentage of conservative chattering class talking points can be boiled down to simple name calling and ad hominem personal attacks... kudos.

I couldn't think of anything else.  It's the first thing that pops into my mind when I hear him open his mouth.  He has yet to do anything that proves he is competent.  If you have a more accurate title please suggest it.

[Gaspar]

Now it's front page in Europe with this picture.



"The markets appear baffled by the confused statements emanating from Washington. President Barack Obama told a news conference hours earlier that there was no threat to the reserve status of the dollar. "

There is no stronger argument for a TelePrompTer Requirement for this guy.  At least they would be reading from the same page.

[USRufnex]

Would you have titled the thread "IDIOT" if the Treasury Sec were a Republican?  I think not.  I would like Obama to use this opportunity to replace Geitner with Robert Rubin...

[Gaspar]

Would you have titled the thread "IDIOT" if the Treasury Sec were a Republican?  I think not.  I would like Obama to use this opportunity to replace Geitner with Robert Rubin...

Yes.  If he was a libertarian, 199 IQ, and half Angel, I would title it the same if he displayed the same lack of competence.

Replace him with a cardboard cutout would even be better.

[Gaspar]

Geithner is to attend the G-20 Summit on April 2nd. 

Ruf,
I would have absolutely no qualms replacing him with Rubin, but it would need to be done before the G-20.  Rubin is both competent and experienced.

If Geithner is allowed to open his mouth at the G-20, I'm not sure where he will take us.  President Obama and the TOTUS are scheduled to be with him, so perhaps the focus will be elsewhere.

[RipTout]

Rubin's over the hill.....Eliot Spitzer maybe?

Republican Presidents have been pathetic at fiscal responsibility over the past 27 years. That is a fact! Deficits rose under Reagan then Bush Senior then Little Bush. If you care about fiscal responsibility then you must lash out at the party that has increased our National Debt. Fact.

This Rolling Stone article is interesting and long read: The Big Takeover -The global economic crisis isn't about money - it's about power. How Wall Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover/8


"The mistake most people make in looking at the financial crisis is thinking of it in terms of money, a habit that might lead you to look at the unfolding mess as a huge bonus-killing downer for the Wall Street class. But if you look at it in purely Machiavellian terms, what you see is a colossal power grab that threatens to turn the federal government into a kind of giant Enron — a huge, impenetrable black box filled with self-dealing insiders whose scheme is the securing of individual profits at the expense of an ocean of unwitting involuntary shareholders, previously known as taxpayers."

AND

"just as Sen. Phil Gramm — a grinning, laissez-faire ideologue from Texas — had finished engineering the most dramatic deregulation of the financial industry since Emperor Hien Tsung invented paper money in 806 A.D."

AND

"In fact, most of Geithner's early moves reek strongly of Paulsonism."

Whine all day about Geithner. But where were we during the Gramm backed takeover?

The T in TOTUS stands for transparency and not teleprompter. Make yourselves believe what you want. The truth is the financial system was ransacked by stupid politicians and greedy Wall Streeters. Tim Geithner and Barack Obama are not in either categories. THEY ARE NOT THE IDIOTS!

[Gaspar]

I'm so glad you're back FOT/RIP.  You present your arguments in a sane and organized manner.

We really admire you as a spokesman.

[FOTD]

I'm so glad you're back FOT/RIP.  You present your arguments in a sane and organized manner.

We really admire you as a spokesman.

Don't get me going.....The devil does not wish to dive into the TNF archives to justify his prominent role as TNF Truth Teller.....

[Conan71]

Would you have titled the thread "IDIOT" if the Treasury Sec were a Republican?  I think not.  I would like Obama to use this opportunity to replace Geitner with Robert Rubin...

If it were McCain's treasury sec, the Dims would have never allowed a tax cheat.  If it were McCain's tresury sec and he was such a bonehead, you can bet your 1040 bottom line, I'd be equally harsh.  Stupid is stupid.  It transcends political party boundaries, Ruf.  These guys are pissing away our country--- the whole lot of them in Washington, not just those with a (D).  BUT- this Geithner is a total and complete moron, the worst of the worst.

[USRufnex]

really?  didnt see any thread titled IDIOT when Paulsen was at the treasury.... at least Geithner isnt some quarterhorse bureacrat from Edmond.

[USRufnex]

Dear Gaseus.... you can call the thread anything you want... and you can act like youre in kindy-garten and call people bedwetters...  to which I will simply point out your hyper-prissy... er, uh... hypocrisy ... Politics aint beanbag.... so dont get your tin foil hats in a bunch, mkay?!?...

[Breadburner]

Did someone fart......?

[USRufnex]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124113406528875137.html

WASHINGTON -- On Jan. 20, Timothy Geithner took control of the Treasury Department, directing the government's response to the financial crisis.

Within three weeks, the White House tightened its grip, alarmed by the poor reaction to Mr. Geithner's performance during the rollout of his rescue plan, government officials say. Since then, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been so involved in the workings of the Treasury that "Rahm wants it" has become an unofficial mantra among some at the Treasury, according to government officials.

The White House involvement is welcomed by some officials at the Treasury, including Mr. Geithner, given that the department is short-staffed and not always attuned to the politics of the hour. But the White House also has pushed to announce programs before details were ready. Other times, the department has been left waiting for White House input -- even on such mundane matters as Web-site design.

Still, in a little more than three months, Mr. Geithner and the White House together have crafted complex programs to combat the financial crisis.

Mr. Geithner said White House involvement is critical to the success of the financial rescue, in part because the popular president can help sell the plan to the public. "I made a judgment...that to do this right, we had to have a fully integrated approach," Mr. Geithner said in an interview. "The president's capacity to lay out for the nation and the world a path through this crisis is as essential as everything we're going to do."

The former head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Mr. Geithner, 47 years old, is described as a smart tactician who reviews scenarios before making a decision. Where former Secretary Henry Paulson -- who ran something akin to an imperial Treasury -- would make decisions while marching down the hallway, Mr. Geithner is slower and more deliberative, say government officials.

Mr. Geithner is in daily contact with the White House, often with Mr. Emanuel. The new relationship is a switch from Mr. Paulson, who was working with a weakened White House, and partly reflects the severity of the U.S. economic crisis.

"On any major policy -- on finance at Treasury or national-security efforts -- the White House is going to play a major role," said David Axelrod, a White House senior adviser. "This is no different. We face in essence an economic emergency. It's an all-hands-on-deck situation." He said Mr. Geithner is held in high esteem.

The shift also reflects Mr. Geithner's early problems, including a flap over his personal taxes, which raised concerns at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

During the administration's first few weeks, Wall Street was expecting a revamp of the Paulson bailout plan, including a so-called bad bank funded and run by the government to buy troubled mortgages and other toxic assets. A Feb. 10 speech by the Treasury secretary on the new plan was scheduled by the White House.

Mr. Geithner knew markets wouldn't like what he had to say. At a presidential economic briefing just ahead of the rollout, Mr. Geithner was candid. "I'm laying out a strategy," he told the assembled officials, including the president, according to an aide present. "They're hungry for the tactics, and the tactics are going to take a little time."

It was a warning the White House didn't seem ready to fully hear. President Barack Obama pumped up the rollout at a prime-time news conference Feb. 9.

The following day, Mr. Geithner spoke in front of a national TV audience, awkwardly flanked by teleprompters and American flags. After he finished, markets plunged nearly 5%. A senior White House official said later that Mr. Geithner had not been well served by the president and his aides.

"There's not a hell of a lot here to get a sense of," Sen. Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) said at the time.

At the president's urging, Mr. Emanuel began to take a close interest in helping Mr. Geithner, a longtime friend. "There was an understanding that the chain of communication hadn't been great," said one official. "I think Rahm felt personally for Tim that there was a lot of responsibility to go around."

In February, the White House had pushed the Treasury to cobble a deal that would help American International Group Inc., which was going to need more rescue funds. The White House wanted to announce the deal on a Friday, to stop the news from spilling over into the following week, said people familiar with the matter.

Some at the Treasury and the Federal Reserve said they needed more time to make sure the ratings firms wouldn't downgrade AIG, which would have spelled disaster for the firm. Officials moved fast to hash out the deal over a weekend, announcing on Monday, March 2 that the U.S. would give AIG access to another $30 billion.

About a week later, a Treasury staffer told Mr. Geithner that AIG was set to pay a series of retention bonuses to employees. That hadn't surfaced during the speedy rescue. Mr. Geithner tried to stop the bonuses, but after learning they were contractual agreements, he concluded the government had no choice.

The resulting furor prompted calls for Mr. Geithner's resignation. Many in Washington wondered how long he would last.

Mr. Geithner remained calm, but a glimmer of the turmoil surfaced during a meeting with his senior staff. At one point, while he was trying to forge agreement, according to government officials, he smiled and said: "Come on, guys, I need your help. I'm getting killed here."

With Wall Street still awaiting details of how the bailout plan would work, the White House moved to make sure the relaunch went well.

On March 15, Messrs. Obama, Emanuel and Geithner, along with the president's economic team, gathered for a meeting in the Roosevelt Room to hear Mr. Geithner lay out details.

For three hours, Mr. Obama and his aides hashed over the plans with the Treasury secretary. As dinnertime approached, around 6 p.m., the president said he was leaving to eat with his family.

"We're not leaving until this gets resolved. Stay at it," he said, standing to go. "I'll be back, and I'll stay as long as we need," he said, according to government officials present.

As darkness fell and the president returned, Mr. Geithner took control of the meeting. He concluded: "Mr. President, in a perfect world there may be other options. In the world in which we live...this is the best option," according to one participant. The meeting adjourned around 10 p.m.

As he rolled out details of the administration's financial rescue plan March 23, the markets responded. This time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 500 points.