FT profiles Timothy ‘Tiny Tim’ Geithner

The FT has a profile of US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner:-

The markets were relieved to see the back of Hank Paulson, George W. Bush’s last

Timothy Geithner

Treasury secretary, whose gaunt, sleep-deprived visage mirrored Wall Street’s fatigue. Mr Geithner represented a fresh technocratic approach in which they could believe.

Now, it seems, every time Mr Geithner opens his mouth the Dow heads in the opposite direction. Worse, perhaps, Mr Obama has got into the habit of expressing his confidence in Mr Geithner, a sure sign in more normal times that a public figure’s days are numbered.

Intriguing in the US expressing confidence in someone means that normally they are goneburger. Perhaps Judith Collins should take a leaf out of the US playbook.

More seriously, the profile is worth a read  these two later paragraphs are somewhat disturbing:-

This is not helped by the fact that he is boyish-looking and lacks authority in his delivery. In his first attempt last month to set out a plan for the financial sector bail-out, Mr Geithner seemed almost shell-shocked. The Dow dropped 400 points while he was speaking. Next week he will try again. But many in the markets, where Mr Geithner is now nicknamed “Tiny Tim”, have written him off. “Tim writes fine words – his speeches look good on paper,” said another former colleague. “But his delivery is bad.”

Mr Geithner’s public touch may improve – and Mr Obama can ill-afford to lose a Treasury secretary within his first 100 days. Moreover, Mr Obama has not always helped his colleague. Last month’s botched bail-out announcement failed in part because Mr Obama had built up such high expectations. This week, Mr Obama left his Treasury secretary scrambling when he instructed him to find a way to claw back AIG bonuses after Mr Geithner had said the administration had no legal means to do so. The suspicion also lingers that Mr Geithner lacks the internal clout to get his way. And there are rumours of differences with Mr Summers, whose intellectual ebullience can overwhelm even the hardiest of colleagues. While Mr Paulson was given a free hand at the White House, Mr Geithner spends much of his time negotiating policy with White House officials.

Having a Treasury Secretary nicknamed Tiny Tim is not a good look, nor is the fact that he is rumoured not to have sufficient political heft to get his way. Further, the implication is that there may be communication failures between White House and the Treasury.

Yet again Adam is left wondering who is in charge. In addition it reminded Adam of a post he made some weeks back in respect of a Clive Crook column on the way Obama was estabishing his administration. It looks as if some of the issues raised then are arising already.

Is hard to see where the necessary leadership is going to come from, if the Dow drops every time Geithner speaks.