That Worked Out Well

Tim Geithner, who everybody says is useless and near professional death, announced his bailout/toxic assets plan today ... the one that everybody was panning all weekend.



And because he sucks sooooo much and so does his plan and don't even get them started on the Leninist that Tim works for, well ...

Wall Street Could Only Respond This Way

Politico

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner – who hasn’t had many winning days in his short tenure on Pennsylvania Avenue – scored a big political victory Monday, as Wall Street traders breathed new life into his career with a stock market rally of nearly 500 points

.... Peterson Institute economist Gary Clyde Hufbauer raved over the plan: “Hooray for team Obama! … The team showed a friendly face to Wall Street and ignored advice to nationalize the financial sector. Can’t do better than that.”

Geithner was partially boosted by savvy stagecraft at Treasury. He spoke without television cameras present, and attracted a group of policy-wonk reporters who seemed far more interested in the details of the plan than they were in the cable news chatter over Geithner’s woes. As a result, Geithner was not asked a single question about the controversy surrounding his handling of the AIG bonus mess, or the speculation over his future in the Obama cabinet.

The absence of television crews seems to have helped Geithner, who has been criticized for his sometimes-awkward on-camera delivery. Sipping from a tall bottle of water as he spoke to a packed room of reporters, Geithner did not seem to be a man whose job is on the line. Although the White House has been forced to issue repeated statements of support for Geithner, the Treasury Secretary appeared confident, spoke without a prepared script, and fielded detailed technical questions.