Three Down, One to Go
Back in September, 2009, I posted a piece on Powerline entitled Obama’s Wrecking Crew, in which I cited a column in The New York Post in which Charles Gasparino reported that his contacts on Wall Street were telling him that, in private conversations, Larry Summers and Tim Geithner were complaining that Barack Obama and his minions were ignoring their advice. The CEO of a major financial firm had observed, “The economic guys say that when they explain the costs of programs, the policy guys simply thank them for their time and then ignore what they say.”
“At some point,” I then wrote, “if these men have any self-respect, they will have to separate themselves from the current administration. At the time of the campaign, there were plenty of indications of Obama's radicalism. But the Democrats on Wall Street and many of our leading economists chose to look the other way. Now a number of the latter find themselves associated with an administration that cares far less about American prosperity than about rearranging economic, social, and political relations in the country to their own liking.”
I then predicted that Summers – who had a reputation to defend – would be the first to go. Geithner was, I observed, a much younger man with a reputation yet to make. He would be slower to give up his position as Secretary of the Treasury, but he too would eventually jump ship.
In early August, I posted a second piece on Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com entitled The Rats Begin Leaving Obama’s Sinking Ship, in which I suggested that the resignation of Peter Orszag, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and that of Christine Romer, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, were a harbinger of further departures to come.
At that time, I wrote, “Neither Orszag nor Romer is a fool. They were party to a con, and they surely knew it. They presumed that the economy would bounce back as it usually does after a recession, and they went along with Rahm Emanuel’s strategy of exploiting the crisis lest it ‘go to waste.’ In the process, they did what they were told and said what they had to. They endorsed and defended policies that, as economists, they knew were unsustainable; and they have left us holding the bag. The recovery has stalled; unemployment is at least 35% higher than Romer predicted it would be at this stage; and the deficits stemming from the so-called ‘stimulus bill’ that these two piously praised as necessary for the recovery now threaten its continuance.”
I was, of course, wrong in supposing that Summers would be the first to go, but the latest news is that he will be leaving at the beginning of the year. I doubt very much that Geithner will hang around much longer.
- Comment (7)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (1)
Comments :
Jun '10
Re: Three Down, One to Go
Uh-huh. Lay down with dogs and get flees. 'Nuff said.
Jun '10
Re: Three Down, One to Go
Fleas, flees, same thing.
Sep '10
Re: Three Down, One to Go
So if "leading economists" are no longer willing to look the other way, who replaces Summers? One year from now, who makes up Obama's economic advisors?
I think the answer is those who share his ideology and agenda. Which makes his defeat in 2012 that much more important.
Sep '10
Re: Three Down, One to Go
So then, which econ professor from Harvard or U of Chicago is next in line?
May '10
Re: Three Down, One to Go
Provided current trends continue with the circulation of The New York Times, Paul Krugman might be looking for a job by then...
Jun '10
Re: Three Down, One to Go
I wonder - will Summers et al take the Keynesian/Krugman stance: "The stimulus was 1/10 what it needed to be, and would have worked if it had been bigger..."
Aug '10
Re: Three Down, One to Go
If these men have character left, they'll lead an insurgency to bring the Administration down, just as Nixon was taken down by people of conscience.
I'm not holding my breath.
At some point you have to see that this is deliberate malfeasance on Obama's part. His deeds so often belie his words, and his words are so often a twisted thicket of contradiction, that an undeniably malevolent pattern emerges.