Reply #74: Geithner Emerges as Obama’s Indispensable Man: Albert R. Hunt

[Demeter]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-15/geithner-emerges-as-obama-s-indispensable-man-albert-r-hunt.html

SO, DO WE RENAME TIMMY "WORMTONGUE"? OR MAYBE, PETER PETTIGREW?

If, two years ago, reports of Timothy Geithner possibly leaving reached the White House, some advisers would have seized on them as an opportunity; President Barack Obama’s Treasury secretary got off to a very rocky start, and was considered a short-termer. Today, if rumblings that he’s thinking about stepping down made their way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., there would be near panic. Geithner is as close to an indispensable figure as there is in the Obama administration...The 49-year-old Treasury chief is unrivaled in economic policymaking in the administration, commands respect in Asia and Europe, and is a presidential favorite.

Some associates say that in recent months, he has ruminated privately about leaving before the end of this term, perhaps when the battle over the debt ceiling is resolved this summer. A few knowledgeable people take this seriously; most doubt it...The post of Treasury secretary demands punishing global travel, and painful obsequiousness to Congress. By one count, Geithner has testified before congressional committees 52 times, with many more private meetings, and House Republicans would love to double that number this year. Over the past three years, no public official, save the president, has endured a more grueling pace...At home, his relations with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recall the celebrated alliance of Robert Rubin, Summers and Alan Greenspan in the 1990s. The difference is, this time, given the political heat from the Republican right, neither man talks about the relationship much.

The Treasury secretary’s political acumen has improved, as have his once acrimonious relations with congressional Republicans. “You can have a conversation with Tim Geithner,” says House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. His political instincts, however, fall well short of his financial ones. He’s no James Baker, who was President Ronald Reagan’s astute Treasury chief. Geithner was genuinely surprised by the outrage on Main Street over the bonuses paid to executives of American International Group Inc. (AIG) after the insurer was bailed out by taxpayers. His role model for the current job probably is his friend and predecessor, Bob Rubin. There hasn’t been a secretary since Rubin left 12 years ago who possessed Geithner’s influence both with the financial community and the president.

Still, if Geithner were to leave after the debt crisis, the legacy would be incomplete. That’s one reason that people who know him believe he will stay. Another is his genuine loyalty to Obama and a sense of pride in the administration’s accomplishments. More so than all but a handful of people in the higher echelons of government, Geithner is genuinely devoted to public service. It’s in the genes. His father was a top Ford Foundation official, mainly in Asia -- where he supervised Obama’s mother - - and his uncle, Jonathan Moore, was a leading Republican official and Harvard College dean............................The father of a college-aged daughter and a son in high school, Geithner has spent almost his entire life in public service. His means are relatively modest; his net worth is estimated in official disclosures between $770,000 and $1.8 million.

POOR TIMMY! DOESN'T THAT MAKE YOU WANT OT RUN DOWN TO DC WITH A CUP OF HOT COCOA AND SOME CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES?