Silly Little Country

What Must Geithner be Thinking?

I have seen lots of speculation in the news and blogs that the administration may want to cut Geithner, once the only man for the job, loose.

But I wonder how Geithner feels right now about what has just happened. He knows Wall Street, he knows that these bonuses were going to exactly the guys trying to wind the financial products division at AIG down, he knows this is a dirty miserable unrewarding job, and exactly the job in AIG that needs to be done to start solving the financial problems the US faces, and he surely understands the reason for the bonuses, a key tool in keeping the execs staying in their jobs. It is, after all, entirely possible that these execs may have saved AIG's owners, and therefore the taxpayers, billions of dollars. And, of course, according to Chris Dodd, it was he who therefore tried to protect those bonuses in the stimulus bill. For very good reasons, as we now see. But it turns out respect for the rule of law is even smaller in Obama and Congress than even Geithner could have imagined.

So while he may publicly admit that there are unfortunate optics here, he must be revolted by his own administration's complicity in the demonization of Wall Street in general, fueled by this ridiculous focus on the AIG bonuses.

Now he probably enjoys the challenge of his job in many ways, and looks forward to the satisfaction of playing a role in solving such a large problem; that is, after all, why one would choose such a career. But right now he must go into meetings working hard to control emotions, and having a lot of trouble respecting the people around him. It must create a lot of conflict, a part of him that wants to walk, and another part that wants to play that key role.

Of course this is all pure speculation. I don't know him.

posted by Alan Adamson @ 11:09 AM