Obama is not Jesus [rquoter]Third Top Treasury Pick Withdraws From Consideration March 12, 2009 2:31 PM Democratic sources say that H. Rodgin Cohen, a partner in the New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and the leading candidate for Deputy Treasury Secretary, has withdrawn from consideration. It's the third withdrawal of a top Treasury Department staff pick in less than a week. I reported last week that Cohen was likely to be officially nominated for the Deputy Treasury Secretary position. Cohen has been a counsel to just about every major player on Wall Street, which perhaps complicated his nomination. Now, the nomination is off. Democratic sources said that an issue arose in the final stages of the vetting process. As one source put it, "it's back to the drawing board." Cohen had risen to the top after the withdrawal last week of expected deputy treasury secretary pick Annette Nazareth. Nazareth was forced to withdraw from consideration for the deputy treasury slot because senators made it clear she would face tough questioning over her time at the Securities and Exchange Commission -- tenure that overlapped with the agency's failure to catch Bernie Madoff. And the candidate for Undersecretary for International Affairs, Caroline Atkinson, was told she had to withdraw after a "tax problem" was revealed early in the vetting process, according to officials. Last week an administration official conceded to me that "it's not easy to find qualified people who don't have conflicts" adding that "dozens of candidates" across the government have been forced to pull out because they couldn't meet President Barack Obama's ethics standards or overcome other vetting issues. Obama administration officials have pushed back hard at critics who argue that failure to fill key Treasury Department positions is hampering their response to the economic crisis. The administration has argued that they have more appointees in place than previous administrations and have done big things: housing, stimulus, and the beginning of their bank plans. But with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner struggling to contain a national economic crisis and helming a department with vital staff positions unfilled -- the latest withdrawal will give critics more ammunition. Foreign Policy reported yesterday that Britain’s most senior civil servant, cabinet secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell, claimed it was hard to find anyone to speak to at the US Treasury Department. He blamed the “absolute madness” of the US system where a new administration had to hire new officials from scratch, leaving a decision-making vacuum. “There is nobody there. You cannot believe how difficult it is,” he told a conference of civil servants. -- George Stephanopoulos[/rquoter]
Rodg is way too close to the industry, it's good that he wasn't nominated. I don't see why this is surprising to real people (this does not include caricatures), when you have the most invasive background checking system in the history of the executive branch, you're going to have people who are derailed because of it.
I don't want a lifelong lawyer anywhere near the Treasury. These people are paid to put in place the plans of others. They are not decision makers.
"Diet coke withdraws from position as Obama beverage, President picks diet Snapple out of white house fridge instead"
it hink the problem is Obama's having trouble finding anyone to drink the Koolaid. maybe you and mc mark should apply to Treasury?
Or maybe asshat republicans have whined like little b****es about the vetting process and made it so difficult that a nun wouldn't get confirmed. just a thought
Wrong again. Mr. Bush's economic collapse means plenty of jobseekers, in fact a record amount for any administration ever. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/22/obama.jobs/
I just hope the stock market can recover to where it was under the Bush Administration. The Obama Recession is in full swing. Never has a market dropped this much, this fast under a new President. Every time he speaks, the market collapses. No cred
True, but by out-sourcing the stimulus to Pelosi/Reid, and by virtue of his ridiculously bloated budget, and the absurd mortgage bail-out, Obama owns that sucker now, lock, stock, and sinking barrel.
Nope! Just because you say it, (especially you saying it) doesn't make it true. The American people know better
Putting aside the many stupid assumptions here, I guess by "out-sourcing" to Pelosi/Reid - he means, you know, getting a bill through Congress as required by the U.S. Constitution rather than just doing it by Royal Proclamation.
basso has probably forgoton the system of checks and balances as his support for the last administration hardened
That's after a steep descent after Obama was elected and the market puked all over the expectations of an all out assault on business. Things started getting bad right about the time Democrats took control of Congress... no surprise.
