Thursday, January 21, 2010
THIS IS GOOD NEWS
Geithner, Summers Eclipsed As White House Changes Posture
In the micro-world of the Obamas, I am more a fan of Paul Volcker and Austan Goolsbee then the other guys.
Goolsbee is the front man, understudy in this two man tag team. Volcker is a great mind and 82 years old. Venerable. He is very powerful back stage with the Congress and other movers and shakers. A former head of the Fed with a good record.
Goolsbee, on the other hand, is a bit mouthy and quite sure of himself (an MIT man through and through) and makes for a very interesting television interview.
He was brought along to the Gibbs press briefing today. He did not disappoint.
There is nothing personal in all of this. The ebb and flow of economic advisors is an old story. The great thing is that Obama found ways to bring the spectrum of thought into the Administration. He does not have to go outside. Hire. Fire.
He just turns his head.
Geithner is under fire for steps taken in his Fed job. He is probably OK and I think he is a good guy but he can't front for the stern position Obama wants to be taking now.
So we are going to get more Austan. Who, incidentally, is quite a good stand up comic. For real. This makes his interviews particularly juicy. Look, this is economics. A snorer. We need Austan to goose it some.
Labels: Administration Obama
