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Politically, Geithner's a Mystery

Non-Wall St. players know little of would-be Treasury secretary

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted Nov 24, 2008 12:10 PM CST

(Newser) – As the head of the New York Fed, Timothy Geithner is a known quantity in certain circles. But as he starts the process of taking the helm at the Treasury Department, the officials who will vote on his confirmation know surprisingly little about him, reports Politico. “I always worry about somebody who has spent his whole life at the Federal Reserve,” says an influential union president. “I just don't know him.”

Most Treasury secretaries are either academic economists or corporate titans; Geithner has a master’s degree but not a PhD in economics, and his most significant experience has been in government, not finance. “The bailouts, whose outcomes are still uncertain, are his only significant accomplishment to put him in line for this position,” says one conservative critic.

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From left, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox, Treasury Undersecretary for Domestic Finance Robert Steel, and Federal Reserve Bank... (AP Photos/Susan Walsh)

Traders Robert Oswald, left, and Daniel Lomeli work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Nov. 21, 2008. Wall Street is ending a volatile week with an unexpected jolt of confidence following... (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Henry Paulson with Ben Bernanke, FDIC Chair Sheila Bair, Timothy Geithner, Currency Comptroller John Dugan, SEC chair Christopher Cox, and Office of Thrift Supervision director John Reich. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

In this May 4, 2007 file photo Timothy Geithner is seen in Montreal. President-elect Barack Obama is likely to name Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, as Treasury Secretary. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ian Barrett, File)

In this Oct. 15, 2008 file photo, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, right, listens to Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, before speaking at the Economic Club of New York.... (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

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The treasury secretary has enormous powers in ordinary times and even greater powers in these troubled times, so the Finance Committee owes the American people all due care and diligence . . .
- Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley

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Politically, Geithner's a Mystery