Saturday, March 21, 2009

Geithner = Warren? from Open Left

Is Tim Geithner another bad choice, like Rick Warren, that Barack Obama is simply incapable of recognizing, admitting and acting on?  And is his unwillingness to recognize this a symptom of some much deeper problem with how he will govern?  I fear it very well could be.

There was a headline at Huffington Post, it's gone now--I blinked and it went away--but it made a sharp impression before it was replaced with something far more benign.  I forget the exact wording, but basically it was the Obama told 60-Minutes there was no way he was letting Geithner go. It came across like it was a point of honor with him.  And I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when I saw that.

I don't know what story Huffpo was linking to, but BBC puts it like this:

Obama fends off Geithner doubters
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will not be allowed to resign amid criticism of his short term in office, President Barack Obama has said.

Mr Obama told CBS News he would turn down any offer by Mr Geithner to quit, and would tell him: "Sorry, buddy, you've still got the job."

I'm having a flashback right about now, to Barack Obama posting a diary at Daily Kos, telling all us dirty fucking hippies to lay off his buds in the Senate.  That was the first instance when Obama used his popularity with the Democratic base to shield his personal friends from justly earned criticism--criticism that had nothing, necessarily, to do with them as private people, and everything to do with their public duties.

Then, there was his still-unexplained infatuation with Rick Warren....  
who clearly tried to sabotage him with the ludicrous "cone of silence" debate--not so much that he colluded with McCain, but simple that it was a stacked debate from start to finish, and everyone with a lick of sense knew that long in advance.  If anything, that public betrayal only made Obama more determined to further elevate him at the inauguration, and simply dismissed the anguished objections of the GLBT community and its allies.

rest http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=12386

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