Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Obama retains Bush's failed economic team

Reported by the NYTimes on April 27, 2009:

Last June, with a financial hurricane gathering force, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. convened the nation’s economic stewards for a brainstorming session. What emergency powers might the government want at its disposal to confront the crisis? he asked.

Timothy F. Geithner, who as president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank oversaw many of the nation’s most powerful financial institutions, stunned the group with the audacity of his answer.

So it’s almost as if one could conclude that Geithner was a major player in Bush’s economic team. And one may also conclude that newly reappointed Economist-in-chief Ben Bernanke was an important part of Bush’s economic team.

But…

Back on September 27, 2008, the NYTimes reported that Obama said:

We also have to recognize that this is a final verdict on eight years of failed economic policies promoted by George Bush...

Huh?

Obama correctly noted that Bush's economic team was a collective failure, but Obama wants to keep them?

Tim White

p.s. As for the Bush economic team's other key player, Hank Paulson… I’m sure Mr. Goldman is content for now. Sure, he’s not The Decider at the moment, but he’s still the gatekeeper.

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