Obama narrows list of possible Summers successors

[demmiblue]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - The White House is narrowing its list of possible replacements for outgoing economic adviser Larry Summers to Yale University President Richard Levin, investment banker Roger Altman and U.S. Treasury official Gene Sperling.

Levin has met with President Barack Obama to discuss a job in the administration, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday.

Altman has also met with the president. Sperling, a former Clinton administration official, has helped spearhead Obama's push for a legislative package to extend tax cuts enacted under Republican former President George W. Bush and unemployment benefits.

White House officials have stressed that no decision has been made. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Monday it might not be possible to name a replacement for Summers by the end of the year because of a busy legislative calendar.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BD32Y20101214

[Roland99]

1. Odds the replacement will have NO direct ties to GS, BoA, JPMorgan, or the Fed?

:eyes:

[sarcasmo]

3. It will be Altman he was a Lehman brothers partner from 1974-77.

The Plutocracy needs to stay the course.

[Hawkowl]

16. Maybe he has an axe to grind against GS?

That would be the best we could hope for. God forbid he actually get somebody who actually advocates for the majority of us poor hive workers.

[notesdev]

12. What is zero, Alex?

They wouldn't even know WHERE to find an uncompromised yet qualified person for the job.

Even though William Black looks pretty available to me... or maybe Liz Warren could use a job title upgrade... and that Barofsky guy is pretty sharp too.

Hell, there are economics bloggers without any formal economics background who can give better advice than any of the people advising him to date.

[Dappleganger]

2. This guy would do better...

At least we'd know what to expect.

[tomm2thumbs]

5. heh heh heh - hilarilously TRUE!

he has that Larry Summers look already

[naaman fletcher]

4. good god

It will be another investment banker. God help us all.

[Faith No More]

6. We're narrowing our list of YOUR possible successors too Barack

[SkyDaddy7]

13. Which Republicans have you narrowed the list down to?

Because there is not a Democratic candidate that could probably beat President Obama that is far enough to the left to ensure purity so that everyone is satisfied & can trust this candidate will never compromise on any legislation with the GOP, ever!

...And if they by chance did beat President Obama in the primary then what? Do you think this ideal perfect Liberal Purist that so many here on DU envision could win a general election? Especially after a primary fight that fractures the Democratic Party & hands the GOP all the ammo it could possibly want?

...Obviously you do not want President Obama to win in 2012 but what if he wins this primary battle you want so bad would Obama be able to win the general election after such a Party fracturing fight?

Or would you rather see a Republican win in 2012 as Obama's punishment?

Seriously, unless you are just blowing off steam, which I can understand, then what possible good could come out of a primary challenge other than to punish President Obama & fracture the Democratic Party.

What am I missing?

[fascisthunter]

15. "purity".... a slang word for the corporate sellouts

[SkyDaddy7]

21. You lost me...Could you explain further I would like to know...

where you are going with the "purity" slang definition.

Oh yeah, Do you have any idea why there are no "Greatest Threads" attacking Nancy Pelosi for not killing this deal?

Do you think there will be any threads attacking Nancy Pelosi since she has not only allowed this tax cut deal to remain alive but she also decided not to have a vote on ending the tax cuts for the rich prior to the election?

Would love to hear your opinion.

[Hawkowl]

17. EVERY possibe Dem candidate

There isn't a potential democratic candidate that is to the right of Obama. So, who gives a shit?

[SkyDaddy7]

18. Your comment reflects just how ABSURD people here on DU...

have become! DU has become a "Bash Obama Echo Chamber" much like Talk Radio & FOX "News" are on the Right where reality has been pushed aside for so long that people like yourself come to believe ABSURD things!

If Obama is the most conservative person in the Democratic Party then I guess he is also a Nazi, Communist & of course a Socialist like talk radio calls him...Every bit is so absurd it must be true.

WHY ARE WE NOT BASHING NANCY PELOSI???

Most will end up voting for it & it will pass & then the BASH OBAMA TRAIN will go into hyper-warp with hardly no mention of the fact Nancy Pelosi could have stopped this tax cut deal but she didn't...How many "Greatest Threads" will we see bashing Nancy? NONE! LOL!

WHY ARE WE NOT BASHING NANCY PELOSI?

...Just plain SAD to see my fellow Liberals abandon critical thinking for mob mentality.

[Hawkowl]

20. I will bash him because he deserves it

And he does deserve it. Gitmo. No prosecution of torture. Bush Tax Cuts. Summary execution of Americans abroad. TARP. Constant insults to the progressives and the left while ass kissing the rethuglicans.

He must go because he won't win in 2012. It's you who need to wake the fuck up. The President is the leader of the party. He's leading us over a cliff.

[leveymg]

7. Here are some links on bios about Mr. Altman (no, he's not the same BCCI guy)

He is, however, a Friend of Bill, and Bill owes him more than most.

About 434,000 results (0.17 seconds)
Search Results

1.
Who Framed Roger Altman? - Aug 15, 1994 - Google Books Result
New York Magazine - Vol. 27, No. 32 - 92 pages - Magazine
The National Interest/ Jacob Weisberg WHO FRAMED ROGER ALTMAN? he was going to ... anything years ago that would merit such interference in the first place. ...
books.google.com/books?id=VeMCAAAAMBAJ... - More book results »
►
2.
Roger Altman - WhoRunsGov.com/The Washington Post
Nov 18, 2010 ... Profile of Roger Altman from The Washington Post. ... This wouldn't be Altman's first time in Washington. ... He resigned from the latter after he was accused of withholding information in the Clinton's Whitewater scandal. ... Edward L Yingling President and CEO of the American Bankers Association ...
www.whorunsgov.com › People - Cached
3.
Wall Street's Latest Media Whiz; As Tabloid Owner, CBS Adviser Has ...
Sep 13, 1999 ... Roger C. Altman wants to make a few things clear. ... and Commerce International scandal in the early 1990's with the late Clark M. Clifford. ... Robert Altman was formerly the president of First American Bankshares, ...
www.nytimes.com › ... › CBS CORPORATION - Cached - Add to iGoogle

[trud]

8. no Lynda

For a few minutes there, I had hopes that this was the Roger Altman who is married to Lynda Carter. No such luck.

In my dreams, Obama undergoes a dramatic personality change and picks Robert Reich.

[wordpix]

26. Robert Reich---my dream, too--perfect pick but O doesn't have the balls to buck Wall St/Goldman

[CTyankee]

9. Levin would prolly make some sense. An academic without the stink of Wall St.

on him. Would be a classy pick. Levin is an economist and has been good for Yale and is obviously well connected given his prestigious position.

I like that he drives around in a modest car...saw him leaving the Yale Bowl after the Princeton game and he looked so, um, normal...

[bemildred]

10. Don't forget Barney.

[bongbong]

11. I was mistaken

I was sure the list of candidates was limited to one of these:

*) ex-CEO of JP Morgan Chase
*) ex-CEO of Goldman
*) ex-CEO of Bank Of America
*) ex-CEO of Wells Fargo

[orbitalman]

14. Possible successors? Oh Really. n/t

[bullwinkle428]

19. I stopped reading at "investment banker"

:banghead:

[nyy1998]

22. Here's some good analysis on this, sounds like Sperling is something ppl here might like

http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/79876/so-roger-altman-replacing-larry-summers-or-not

[wordpix]

25. WTF? NOTHING to like:deregulation & Congress repealed Glass-Steagall "under Sperling's watch"

snip ... Judging by Sperling's record in government and on Wall Street, he would likely favor a policy of lenient regulation of the banking sector. Like Summers, Sperling has ties to Robert Rubin, the former Treasury Secretary, Goldmanite and, more recently, chairman of Citigroup, who pushed for deregulation under President Clinton.

After serving as deputy NEC director, Sperling took the commission's top spot in 1996, overseeing a policy of deregulation of Wall Street. Under Sperling's watch, Congress repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, a rule-easing that many believe contributed to the financial crisis less than a decade later. ...

[western mass]

23. which RW bank lobbiest is he going to choose next?

[MrTriumph]

24. Hey, Bernie may be lookin' for work.

x

[DavidSegal]

27. Megabanks vs Whistle-blowers

Crimes committed by the big banks helped crash our economy -- and WikiLeaks is saying that a whistle-blower has sent them enough evidence to take down Bank of America. So now the big banks are fighting back by trying to get the government to muzzle future whistle-blowers.

They want rules to force whistle-blowers to go to their bosses before going to the government -- giving employers the perfect chance to shut them up! Even the Securities and Exchange Commission admits that its proposed rules could "discourage" whistleblowers.

Will you help us protect financial reform, by telling the SEC to implement strong, pro-whistle-blower rules right away?

http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/whistle...

PETITION TO THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION: More whistle-blowing about corporate crimes could have made the foreclosure crisis and economic meltdown less severe.

Whistle-blowers should never be forced or encouraged to take their concerns to their potentially corrupt bosses first: Those who go directly to the government deserve the strongest rewards and protections allowed by law.