Obama's Cabinet and Staff

[NorthSideSox72]

Well, I hope you're right. All I'll say about the phrase "I'm sure he was aware of the housing bubble" is that way too many of the guys in charge, including Greenspan and Bernanke, were denying that there was a housing bubble even as late as 06 or so.

Greenspan was denying it specifically? I don't recall that. I thought he even said that prices were overinflated, but then also said that a correction was in store. Maybe I am remembering someone else.

 

[Balta1701]

Greenspan was denying it specifically? I don't recall that. I thought he even said that prices were overinflated, but then also said that a correction was in store. Maybe I am remembering someone else.

His word was that there was a "froth", a number of local issues, but that they would go through some local corrections and it wouldn't be a big problem.

 

Bernanke was actually more emphatic in saying there wasn't one after he took over in late 05.

 

Council on Foreign Relations event, March 10, 2005:

 

Mr. GREENSPAN: In a related concern, a number of analysts have conjectured that the extended period of low interest rates is spawning a bubble in housing prices in the United States that will, at some point, implode. Their concern is that, if this were to occur, highly leveraged homeowners would be forced to sharply curtail their spending. To be sure, indexes of house prices based on repeat sales of existing homes have significantly outstripped increases in rents, suggesting at least the possibility of price misalignment in some housing markets.

 

But a destabilizing contraction in nationwide house prices does not seem the most probable outcome. To be sure, the recent marked increase in the investor share of home purchases suggests rising speculation in homes. (Owner occupants are rarely home speculators because to sell, they must move.) However, nominal house prices in the aggregate have rarely fallen and certainly not by very much. And even should more-than-average price weakness occur, the increase in home equity as a consequence of the recent sharp rise in prices should buffer the vast majority of homeowners.

 

House prices, however, like those of many other assets, are difficult to predict, and movements in those prices can be of macroeconomic significance.

 

"There can be little doubt that exceptionally low interest rates on 10-year Treasury notes, and hence on home mortgages, have been a major factor in the recent surge of homebuilding and home turnover, and especially in the steep climb in home prices," Greenspan told the Joint Economic Committee.

 

"Although a 'bubble' in home prices for the nation as a whole does not appear likely, there do appear to be, at a minimum, signs of froth in some local markets where home prices seem to have risen to unsustainable levels," he said.

 

Greenspan noted that structural checks exist against rampant speculation in real estate, particularly when owners live in their houses. More troubling is a recent trend toward purchases of second homes.

Link

[NorthSideSox72]

His word was that there was a "froth", a number of local issues, but that they would go through some local corrections and it wouldn't be a big problem.

 

Bernanke was actually more emphatic in saying there wasn't one after he took over in late 05.

 

 

 

Link

Interesting. So he did say there was some overpricing, but said there wouldn't likely be a dramatic correction. Guess he was wrong there.

 

[Balta1701]

Interesting. So he did say there was some overpricing, but said there wouldn't likely be a dramatic correction. Guess he was wrong there.

And just a few months beforehand, he was actively telling Americans to "Get an ARM".

[StrangeSox]

Interesting. So he did say there was some overpricing, but said there wouldn't likely be a dramatic correction. Guess he was wrong there.

 

Greenspan has been wrong about an awful lot of things relating to this current mess.

[Balta1701]

Going back to our next, hopefully-non-cub-fan Treasury Secretary, here's Bloomberg painting a good image of the guy in terms of the disastrous CDS gambling system.

Timothy Geithner was among the first policy makers to shine a light on the unregulated $47 trillion credit-default swap market back in 2005. The New York Federal Reserve president has struggled since then to get dealers to carry out reforms.

 

The industry has yet to launch a structure to safeguard against market-wide losses in case a dealer fails, though its leaders expect to get one off the ground by the end of the year. Geithner, selected yesterday by President-elect Barack Obama to be his Treasury secretary, has made clear that such a step is crucial to help contain the mushrooming credit crisis.

 

“In classic Tim and New York Fed style, the work has been done behind the scenes, among technocrats, largely by consensus,” said Adam Posen, a former Fed official who is now at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “The downside is that it takes awhile to get consensus.”

[NorthSideSox72]

Going back to our next, hopefully-non-cub-fan Treasury Secretary, here's Bloomberg painting a good image of the guy in terms of the disastrous CDS gambling system.

Sounds about right.

 

By the way, the WSJ pointed out recently that CME's attempt to get a swaps clearing house set up has been heating up, and gotten promises of federal funding to get it done and out there right quick.

 

[Balta1701]

Well, it's official. Bush gave the Democrats SecTrans to be bipartisan...Obama is at least giving the Repubs SecDef.

[lostfan]

I wouldn't really call Gates a Republican. He's not partisan like that.

 

You guys all know how happy I am with this pick though.

[lostfan]

Here's his cabinet so far.

 

Chief of Staff: Rahm Emanuel

Vice President Chief of Staff: Ron Klain

White House Press Secretary: Robert Gibbs

White House Counsel: Greg Craig

Senior Advisors: David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett

 

Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton

 

Secretary of Treasury: Tim Geithner

 

Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates

 

Attorney General: Eric Holder

 

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Daschle

 

Secretary of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano

 

Director of the Office of Management and Budget: Peter Orszag

 

UN Ambassador: Susan Rice

 

National Security Advisor: James Jones

 

I'm not overly impressed with the Hillary pick but it otherwise seems like a pretty solid list so far and his strategy seems to be getting things done quickly. I thought Spitzer was in line for Attorney General but he literally screwed himself out of the job.

[NorthSideSox72]

Here's his cabinet so far.

 

Chief of Staff: Rahm Emanuel

Vice President Chief of Staff: Ron Klain

White House Press Secretary: Robert Gibbs

White House Counsel: Greg Craig

Senior Advisors: David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett

 

Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton

 

Secretary of Treasury: Tim Geithner

 

Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates

 

Attorney General: Eric Holder

 

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Daschle

 

Secretary of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano

 

Director of the Office of Management and Budget: Peter Orszag

 

UN Ambassador: Susan Rice

 

National Security Advisor: James Jones

 

I'm not overly impressed with the Hillary pick but it otherwise seems like a pretty solid list so far and his strategy seems to be getting things done quickly. I thought Spitzer was in line for Attorney General but he literally screwed himself out of the job.

Add...

 

Richardson for Commerce

 

Volcker as head of the economic council (not truly cabinet position - inner circle).

 

[Texsox]

Secretary of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano

 

I do like having a border Governor in this position. I feel there is at least a fighting chance of some sense being brought into the border wall. Of course now Homeland security is less about jets flying into towers and more about Mexican low skilled workers taking low skilled jobs from Americans.

[NorthSideSox72]

Secretary of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano

 

I do like having a border Governor in this position. I feel there is at least a fighting chance of some sense being brought into the border wall. Of course now Homeland security is less about jets flying into towers and more about Mexican low skilled workers taking low skilled jobs from Americans.

I thought it turned out she wasn't taking that job.

 

Also, to clarify, Volcker is going to lead the "Economic Recovery Board"

[Texsox]

I thought it turned out she wasn't taking that job.

 

It is being reported that earlier today McCain said he would be helping to secure her approval as soon as she is nominated.

McCain will return to Senate and seek a fifth term

By JACQUES BILLEAUD – 15 hours ago

 

PHOENIX (AP) — Sen. John McCain said Tuesday that he intends to seek a fifth term in the Senate in 2010 and looks forward to resuming his duties in Washington.

 

McCain said he looks back on his losing presidential campaign with pride and will make a formal announcement of his re-election bid in the future.

 

"The decision I am basically making is to be able to continue to serve in the state of Arizona and my country," McCain said at a press conference.

 

His agenda includes battling wasteful government spending, trying to overhaul the country's immigration policies and making trips to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

Another duty that McCain promised to carry out is seeking the Senate confirmation of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as President-elect Barack Obama's homeland security chief — should she be formally nominated as expected.

 

McCain said Napolitano, a governor versed in border security, is highly qualified for the job. "We all know that we face challenges from Islamic extremists throughout the world, and I believe that she will do an outstanding job," said McCain, who spoke with Napolitano about the prospect of her landing the position.

 

 

[Balta1701]

DHS

Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz., is smashing the idea of a border wall, stating it would be too expensive, take too long to construct, and be ineffective once completed.

 

"You show me a 50-foot wall and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder at the border. That's the way the border works," Napolitano told the Associated Press.

 

Instead of a wall, she said funds would be better utilized on beefing up Border Patrol manpower, technology sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles.

[NorthSideSox72]

DHS

Thank you. Exactly.

 

[bmags]

BUT JOB CREATION

[NorthSideSox72]

BUT JOB CREATION

Well, yeah, her plan should create jobs as well - permanent manpower for Border Patrol and/or state agencies, technology project contracts, etc.

 

[Balta1701]

It's only a leak and there's at least 1 other news source that's spinning a different name...but some of Obama's energy/environment team seems to be coming out.

Obama will name Steven Chu his choice for Energy secretary, Lisa Jackson for EPA administrator and Carol Browner as energy "czar" reporting to the president.

 

It is unclear whether the Browner position is cabinet level.

This is actually kind of remarkable. You know who Steven Chu is? Dr. Steven Chu is a legitimate nobel prize winning physicist. Dr. Steven Chu has a Ph.D. from Berkeley in physics. He's currently the director of Lawrence-Berkeley national labs.

 

The guy is a legitimate scientist. We may actually have a Ph.D. carrying, Nobel Prize winning physicist in the cabinet.

 

I'll take it.

[kapkomet]

Pretty interesting choice.

 

[Balta1701]

Here's Dr. Chu speaking at the "National Energy Conference" at UNLV some time back.

 

 

I love this. He absolutely nails the conservation issues in the first few slides. I haven't even gotten through all of it yet.

 

If nothing else, we actually will have an energy secretary who you simply can't B.S.

 

Lisa Jackson comes from John Corzine's office, and she is currently running an auction-based program for selling off carbon credits (by FAR the right way to do it).

[DukeNukeEm]

So... Arne Duncan?

[Balta1701]

First batch of confirmation hearings this coming week and the next week.

[Cknolls]

Leon Panetta CIA head in waiting.

 

 

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01...ia-director/?hp

Edited January 5, 2009 by Cknolls

[Balta1701]

Ken Salazar at Interior seemingly gets a Hell of a bathroom.

If Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) is confirmed this month as interior secretary, he'll have a snappy, scarcely used bathroom in his fifth-floor office, thanks to Dirk Kempthorne, the outgoing secretary.

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Seems Kempthorne spent about $235,000 in taxpayer funds renovating the bathroom a few months ago, which included installing a new shower, a refrigerator and a freezer and buying monogrammed towels, department officials told our colleague Derek Kravitz.

 

The General Services Administration approved and partially funded the project, an Interior Department official said. The GSA paid about half the cost to refurbish aging plumbing, which needed to be replaced within four years.

 

But department officials say much of the money was spent on lavish wood paneling and tile. Among the choice items found in the new bathroom: wainscot wood panels extending from floor to ceiling and cabinet doors revealing a working refrigerator and freezer.

 

"If Gale Norton needed to shower, at least she was conservative enough to go to the gym in the basement of the building," one career employee quipped, referring to Kempthorne's predecessor.

 

An initial investigation by the department's inspector general, Earl B. Devaney, found no wrongdoing on the secretary's part because the GSA had approved the project.

Do they re-monogram the towels for him?