Where Were Axelrod and Gibbs?
The blabbering classes are taking up pitchforks and torches over the AIG bonuses. The AIGate question now becomes: What did the President/Secretary of Treasury/Fed/Congress know and when did they know it?
My question: Why didn’t David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs see this coming?
Team Obama would not be the first winners to go to the White House and forget how they got there. There is something about winning a presidential race – maybe it’s moving into the West Wing or having your picture in the New York Times – that turns political geniuses into tone-deaf insiders.
Apparently the White House political team knew about the bonuses when they sent Larry Summers onto the Sunday talk shows to say you can’t “abrogate” – what a word! – contracts. It took them one day to change course.
One of my Democratic friends fumed that it’s not fair for Obama to get the blame after 28 years of Republican rhetoric – and action – about deregulation, getting government out of business and “greed is good.”
But another Democratic friend said it is Obama’s responsibility now – and you can’t blame everything on Bush & Co. forever.
While all around him rage and fume, Obama maintains his usual cool. That served him well in the campaign. Will it this time? If Obama dumps Tim Geithner, you’ll know that the peasants are getting too close to the castle.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.
Where Were Axelrod and Gibbs?
The blabbering classes are taking up pitchforks and torches over the AIG bonuses. The AIGate question now becomes: What did the President/Secretary of Treasury/Fed/Congress know and when did they know it?
My question: Why didn’t David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs see this coming?
Team Obama would not be the first winners to go to the White House and forget how they got there. There is something about winning a presidential race – maybe it’s moving into the West Wing or having your picture in the New York Times – that turns political geniuses into tone-deaf insiders.
Apparently the White House political team knew about the bonuses when they sent Larry Summers onto the Sunday talk shows to say you can’t “abrogate” – what a word! – contracts. It took them one day to change course.
One of my Democratic friends fumed that it’s not fair for Obama to get the blame after 28 years of Republican rhetoric – and action – about deregulation, getting government out of business and “greed is good.”
But another Democratic friend said it is Obama’s responsibility now – and you can’t blame everything on Bush & Co. forever.
While all around him rage and fume, Obama maintains his usual cool. That served him well in the campaign. Will it this time? If Obama dumps Tim Geithner, you’ll know that the peasants are getting too close to the castle.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.