Mr. Geithner, Do Not Resign!
Posted: Thursday, March 19, 2009
by Jean Purcell
OpineBooks.com
The U. S. Congress, via specific spokespersons, is today calling for the resignation of Treasury Secretary Geithner. It's over the continuing mess about the failed financial division of AIG and its contract to pay bonuses to employees regardless of performance on the job.
Last night on CNN, Dana Bash asked Senator Chris Dodd about his reversal of his claim that he had nothing to do with a recently passed legislation that specifically protected firms like AIG regarding employee bonus contracts.
Then yesterday Senator Dodd, in effect admitted, "I did it." But he did not stop there. Now it is not some unnamed "someone" whom Dodd targets for what he did in putting AIG et al. protection into the bill. Now it is "the Treasury Department." He says "someone at Treasury" called him and asked him to add protection for bonuses to the legislation.
With that news background, let's go over the chain of events, in skeleton form:
First, not only "someone" but almost "everyone" blamed AIG for having a legal, if distasteful, contract to payout bonuses not based on high performance. We can understand "everyone's" view;
Then, Dodd was blamed in the press and by others for adding an exemption to protect those contracts put into force by AIG and others before February 11, 2009;
Then Dodd denied any responsibility;Dodd blamed "someone else" in Congress;
Then, the media turned to the White House for comment, and people there said that when the President signed the legislation into law, he had not read it. What was unusual about that was that the Office of Management and Budget, which serves under the Executive Office of every President, apparently did not have people read it either. They apparently did not have a team read it, paying special attention to hot topics, and to report to the President on the legislation in final form;
Or, OMB did read it, did see the special exemptions, did report on it, and it was signed anyway;
Over to Treasury: Someone at Treasury said that Dodd did know about the added provision that a majority of Congress passed, which protected AIG's payouts; that someone said that someone at Treasury had talked with Dodd to add the provision;
Back to Dodd (Oops): Dodd admits he did add the provision because of "someone at Treasury";
Now into all this circle of events comes a suggestion from certain parts of Congress that someone resign. But they need to give someone a name. The toss goes to: Secretary Geithner.
Now we're getting into the last throes of a Washington Power Ball game: A scapegoat had to be found when the story moved toward scandal range; the scapegoat could not be "someone else," since the end of the game is desired as quickly as possible; therefore, someone else had to be named.
Who was chosen and named in the last innings/final quarter/final half of Washington Power Ball? Since a majority of members of the Senate, including Dodd, confirmed the President's nomination of Mr. Geithner for Secretary of the Treasury, they tossed it over to the White House through this name: Geithner!
There's a problem, though. Granted that Mr. Geithner lied on his personal income taxes. But also granted: a majority in Congress knew that and confirmed him for Treasury Secretary anyway.
During this timeout time we're in now, here are some questions commentators should mull over:
--Will the majority in Congress who confirmed Mr. Geithner resign?
--Will Senator Dodd, who lied about the facts and who is trying to push responsibility onto others, resign?
--Will the majority in Congress who voted Yes to the legislation that covered/protected AIG payouts resign?
Thus far, the President is standing by his Treasury Secretary.
Mr. Geither, do not resign. Stay the course; refuse the Scapegoat cape, and welcome to your biggest test of Washington Power Ball. I still cannot find a way to endorse you; but I just don't like to see others try to force you to become the scapegoat. There are plenty of "someones" at which to point fingers in this game.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Nicely done. The Treasury Secretary won't be a scapegoat since there are plenty of others in Thunderdome able to fill those shoes. He is trying, although his 'forgetting' to pay taxes is kind of odd. Mr. Dodd, on the other hand, has lost any credibility he might have had. He, along with Barney Frank, will go the way of other politicians who either lied outright or were too power-hungry to remember it is called public service.We the people are giving this new administration plenty of rope. We haven't an endless supply, though.Good article.We are thinking on similar tracks. As long as most members of Congress give any President or President's team unlimited loyalty with no measurable time for public input and Congressional deliberation, they deserve to be sent home for good. Changing the faces of Congress is the key. You are right, it is supposed to be public service, not Congressional power and payback.
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