Bloomberg News is reporting that, unlike the summer of 2011 when President Obama convinced him to stay, Tim Geithner will step down as Treasury Secretary by the end of January, and in any event before any debt-ceiling resolution.
I am not sorry to see him go. For me, the announcement of Geithner as Treasury Secretary took a lot of the job of Obama’s 2008 victory away. I think I’ve been proven correct. Who replaces Geithner is the big question, and will say a lot about Obama’s own views on economic policy. If it’s Erskine Bowles, Peter Orszag, Bill Daley, etc., we can kiss goodbye any hope of progressive rebirth during this administration.
As in 2008, this is the single biggest appointment out there. Those of us who want to see this administration at least trying to pull for progressive, and pro-growth (as opposed to austerity) policies, have to be prepared to fight like hell if a bad name is put out there.
