President-elect Barack Obama's choices for top economic positions underscore the fact that his administration's overriding priority will be to secure the interests of the financial elite. The economic appointments have been welcomed by the political establishment and media as "centrist" and "center-right."
Obama announced that Timothy Geithner, head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will be Treasury secretary, and Lawrence Summers, the former Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, will lead the National Economic Council. The announcements were made at a press conference devoted to the economic crisis. [See, "Obama holds press conference, promises 'whatever is required' for Wall Street"]
Geithner has been intimately involved in the federal bailout of the financial industry, working closely with Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke and current Treasury secretary Henry Paulson. It has been reported that Geithner was the principal architect behind the government-backed bailout of Bear Stearns, among other deals.
Geithner began his career with Kissinger Associates, Inc., in Washington, D.C., a consulting firm founded by former Nixon Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He worked his way up in the Clinton administration to under secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs from 1998 until Clinton left office. In that capacity he worked under both Clinton treasury secretaries, Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers.
Before being appointed as president of the New York Fed, Geithner worked as a policy director for the International Monetary Fund and was a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a leading diplomatic think tank.
The financial elite delivered its verdict on Geithner's selection on Friday. When the Obama transition team leaked word of his selection, the markets rallied. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 494.13 points, or 6.5 percent. Geithner will be considered "Wall Street's man" in the Obama administration.
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I lied. Article is biased, but name a news outlet that isn't.