Article: Who is Timothy Geithner?

[Fleshdancer]

If you're like me, you don't know much about this guy but you're curious. I've been searching for info beyond his small wiki page and found this. Disclaimer: I'm not familiar with the WSJ blogs so if this is a bad source, please let me know without jumping down my throat. ;)

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/11/21/who-is-timothy-geithner/

Who is Timothy Geithner?

President-elect Barack Obama’s pick for Treasury secretary is relatively young, largely unknown and a proud workaholic. He is known for staying out of the spotlight, preferring to operate quietly behind the scenes to watch over financial markets as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Timothy Geithner, 47, has had a seat at the table since the credit crisis erupted in August 2007 and eventually sparked the deep economic downturn the nation is facing now. As a result, at least until his confirmation hearing, he’ll be criticized for having a major role in a government response that hasn’t always instilled confidence in financial markets — even if it prevented a wider financial meltdown.

As the Fed’s man on Wall Street, Mr. Geithner was a key architect of the $30 billion bailout to prevent the bankruptcy of Bear Stearns Cos., leading to charges the government was stoking moral hazard. He shaped the Fed’s lifeline to investment banks that followed, and was among the officials involved in assessing the implications of the troubles around Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers Holdings, American International Group and numerous other firms (from Wachovia to Citigroup) that have come under market pressure.

Few of those calls were his decision alone. Mr. Geithner will be praised as one of the most effective managers in an unprecedented situation, looking around the corner for the crisis that will follow the current one. He has been in many ways an activist looking to intervene wherever the government could to address a market failure. As vice chairman of the interest-rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (the usual role of the New York Fed chief), Mr. Geithner was among the first officials deeply concerned about the economic implications of the credit crisis. He has advocated for the aggressive rate cuts since September 2007 that probably kept the economy out of a deeper downturn until now.

[democrat2thecore]

1. A Wall Street Lackey - I am PERPLEXED at this "fundamental change" -nt