Geithner Prevails Over Axelrod, Gets Obama To Go Easy On Wall Street?
There are few people more senior in President Obama’s universe than David Axelrod, the architect of Obama’s winning campaign message and overseer of big picture messaging stuff in the White House.
But it appears that on financial matters at least, Axelrod may be getting outmaneuvered by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who wants Obama to go easier on Wall Street:
WASHINGTON— The Obama administration’s new plan to bail out the nation’s banks was fashioned after a spirited internal debate that pitted the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, against some of the president’s top political hands.
In the end, Mr. Geithner largely prevailed in opposing tougher conditions on financial institutions that were sought by presidential aides, including David Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president, according to administration and Congressional officials.
Mr. Geithner, who will announce the broad outlines of the plan on Tuesday morning, successfully fought against more severe limits on executive pay for companies receiving government aid.
So Axelrod wanted a sharper populist message, but Geithner prevailed in the internal argument, successfully protecting financial institutions and executives from tougher measures? Something doesn’t feel right about this story. If anything, right now the Obama message is veering in a more populist direction, not less, with Axelrod and others more aggressively positioning Obama as a champion of Main Street against Wall Street and K Street.
This seems strikingly at odds with what’s been coming out of the White House right now. I’m not buying this yet.
Update: Matthew Yglesias makes a smart point, noting that Obama may be listening to his policy advisers on this, and not his political advisers, who seem to be where the progressives inside the administration are concentrated.
Politico also has the remarks of Geithner to be released later today here:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18655.html
which also includes the “capital buffer banks” plan that seem to be nothing more than bad banks. I’m not quite sure what to think about this broad bank bailout plan, given my own limited understanding of economics.
I’m not sure what to make of this either. seems like someone might re report this whole story…
There is a fair argument to be made that the CEOs’ failed policies were largely due to the regulatory culture they had to had to compete in. Merely adding regulations, especially through our compromised political system, will not kill the bacteria. The more people who quit because of forced pay cuts, the faster the system will function again. This isn’t just about populism. It is to some degree an honest, sincere form of corruption, but these CEO’s will never see it in a mirror.
I know way more about hip hop than I do economics so I’ll pass until we are discussing whether Illmatic is in fact the greatest rap album ever recorded.
I have no basis for freaking out over Geithner, like so much of the left seems to be doing.
I am amused that everyone forgot so quickly what Obama says just about every time he has talked about his philosophy of how to run the Executive – he doesn’t want everyone around him to agree with each other or with him.
He’s not Bush.
TO ALL,
MY NAME IS PATRICIA , I’M AN AFRICAN AMERICAN, WHO IS AFFENDED BY THE LEVEL OF DISREPECT THAT REPUBLICANS and rush the fat *** limbaugh HAS SHOWN OUR PRESIDENT, AND I WANT TO KNOW WHY DOESN’T RUSH THE FAT **** LIMBAUGH DOESN’T LIKE BLACK PEOPLE.
WHY IN THIS DAY AND AGE IS HE A RACIST. I KNOW HIS RACIST GRANDFATHER MUST BE PROUD.
THE LEVEL OF DISRESPECT TO PRESIDENT IS DISGUSTING. THIS MAKES ME SO SICK, AND yet, i would like to know when are the black leaders going to do something about this.
SOME OF US IN BLACK COMMUNITY IS GEARING UP TO TAKE THIS MAN DOWN.
WE DO NOT LIKE WHAT HE’S SAYING AND HAVE SAID ABOUT OUR PRESIDENT OBAMA AND HIS DEAD MOTHER. WHY IS THIS MAN STILL ON THE AIR.
JUST WAIT AND SEE. RUSH LIMBAUGH IS NOT GOING TO KNOW, WHAT HIT HIM.
THE MAN IS TALKING ABOUT BARACK OBAMA’S DEAD MOTHER HOW DISGUSTING IS THAT?
BARACK THE MAGIC NEGRO.
THE REPUBLICANS ARE JUST AS MUCH AS A RACIST AS RUSH. IF I WAS MARRIED TO ANY OF THESE PEOPLE I WOULD BE EMBARRASED. BECAUSE THEY ACT JUST LIKE A BUNCH OF P****YS. SCARED TO SAY ANYTHING AGAINST THIS MAN.
SO WHEN YOU GUYS LAUGH AT THIS FOOL JUST REMEBER, THERE ARE MANY OF US FROM AND IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY, DON’T THINK THIS MESS IS FUNNY.
PEACE OUT
PATRICIA
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