Did You Know...

**Written by Doug Powers

Late in 2009, President Obama graded himself “solid B-plus,” and it turns out that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner isn’t going anywhere until he’s helped get America a credit rating to match.

San Francisco Chronicle:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has told President Obama he plans to remain in his job through the fall of 2012, keeping in place Obama’s longest-serving economic adviser after the first-ever U.S. credit downgrade and renewed fears of a second recession.
[...]
Geithner told the president Friday that he would remain in his post. Hours later, he had to go to the White House to meet with Obama again and tell him the nation would likely lose its triple-A credit rating.

“Secretary Geithner has let the president know that he plans to stay on in his position at Treasury,” Treasury spokeswoman Jenni LeCompte said in a statement. “He looks forward to the important work ahead on the challenges facing our great country.”

White House press secretary Jay Carney said: “The president asked Secretary Geithner to stay on at Treasury and welcomes his decision.”

Geithner was asked why he doesn’t quit and get a job elsewhere, and he replied, “In this economy?” Just kidding. The real reason is that he’s the only guy who remembers the password to the Turbo QE3 software.

Andrew Malcolm:

The master of finance who has so successfully assisted President Obama in boosting the national debt by more than $3 trillion, driving unemployment back north of 9% by spending only $787 billion in stimulus funds, corroding consumer confidence and presiding over the first federal credit downgrading in history has agreed to stick around to continue his impressive work for this Democratic administration.

I thought maybe the president would let Geithner go in an attempt to buy himself a little time when it comes to “turning around” the economy, but in hindsight doing so would imply Treasury, and ergo the administration, was at least partly at fault for the S&P flap, which would extinguish the Dems’ “Tea Party downgrade” fire. Geithner might not have been allowed to leave even if he wanted to.

**Written by Doug Powers

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