After Obama was elected it was widely suspected that Treasury Secretary would be among the very first appointments made, given the critical nature of reassuring the markets and the world that that position was in good hands. Yet here we are, having already gone through several others including the ongoing coyness with HRC for SoS and even Commerce Secretary and yet no progress released/leaked on Treasury.
Is it just taking them that long to think about which of the two or three main speculations they should pick or are they trying to arm twist another name into service and holding off while they try all means of persuasion? Yes, I wonder if they are working on Buffet.
It would fit with Obama’s desire to have a true All-Star team and Buffet’s cachet would go a long way to reassure the markets all by itself. It has been widely accepted that he would be uninterested in such a position but he strikes me as someone who could be convinced by a call to the greater good. Yes, setting things up to avoid conflicts of interest without having his portfolios (and the monies that others have invested in his vehicles) collapse as a result of his leaving the helm would be tricky. But I have hard time otherwise explaining this delay. Hmmm.
In the grand scheme, I think Obama is actually going about this pretty fast. The election was only two weeks ago. None of the picks so far have been “officially announced,” if that means anything - so basically I think the names that have leaked were the low-hanging fruit, stuff that was determined a while ago, whereas they’re taking more time to work out the Treasury Secretary question. Everybody knew Daschle and Napolitano were going to be in the administration, for example, it was just a question of which positions they were going to get.
I don’t think it’s going to be Buffett. Obama didn’t surprise anybody with his VP choice, and none of his other reported choices have been surprises either. He doesn’t seem to be a believer in making a big splash for its own sake. All reports say the favorites are Summers and Geithner, so I suspect that’s true.
You’re right. It was widely rumored that he’d make her something of something, whether it was Attorney General, Secretary for HHS or a Supreme Court nominee, but that was more chatter than reporting and I didn’t think it would actually happen. Other than her, but his cabinet and advisory picks so far haven’t been surprising.
His new pick might force Paulson to do something ugly if he is not in agreement with the present fixes. There are respected economists who think Paulson is on the wrong track.
Obama probably doesn’t want to undercut Paulson’s authority right now or take the spotlight away from him. I’m sure he’s just waiting for a calmer time in the markets before making a announcement.
I’m hoping for either Geithner or Shelia Bair as Treasury secretary. I think either one of them will hit the ground running and do a good job. I don’t think Buffet will take the position even if offered. Being Treasury secretary would mean he’ll have to get out of the market so that there would be no conflicts of interest. He loves investing to much to ever give it up. BTW DSeid don’t be fooled by his nice guy image, he is a ruthless businessman. I guess I better first say I admire the man and plan on buying 1 share of BRK.A just so I can go to the annual conference next year. But in the investing world he is the 800 pound gorilla. One of my personal trading rules is to stay the hell out of his way (and ride his coattails whenever prudent).
That said, the market hadn’t liked the uncertainty. The rally in response to his announcement was less an endorsement to his (finally) being pegged specifically, than to the reduction of uncertainty and the expectation that now some cooperation in implementing some leadership may occur before January 21.
