Turbo Tim's time in "The Show" is drawing to a close.
The much heralded phenom is about to be relegated to the minors after the New York Times revealed the former FRBNY's chairperson put the kybosh on the release of counterparty details in AIG's backdoor payout to Goldman Sachs, et.al. That the Washington Post also got copies of the e-mails between AIG and FRBNY smells of Team Obama's desperate need to save face on composting economic matters and offer a sacrificial lamb on the altar of public opinion. William D. Cohen's Op-ed in the Times, that identified Paulson, Bernanke, and Geithner as the three horseman of the economic collapse provides the third witness.
Bloomberg reports that Geithner will be called before Congress on January 18th to testify on his role in the affair. White House Press Secretary issued a hearty "of course" when asked if the President still supported the Treasury Secretary... the kiss of death.
Senator Byron Dorgan, who recently announced he would not stand for re-election, has added his name to those placing a hold on Ben Bernanke's second term as Federal Reserve Chairman. Dorgan makes six Senators- from both sides of the House - who want a vote on Bernanke's reappointment. 41 votes in the Senate and Bernanke is toast. Only a neophyte could believe the two matters are not closely related.
Rahm Emmanuel's iron fingerprints are all over the brown envelopes slid under the doors of the Times and Post after being caught flat-footed by the momentum of HR 1207. Ron Paul's audit the fed bill revealed the soft underbelly of House politics in the face of growing popular dissent, Obama does not want the same dynamic to take out Ben Bernanke.
With mid-term elections on the fore, Congress needs to show some steel and Timmy is the fall guy. It's a win-win situation for everyone: Timmy gets to pull in some 'Rubinesque' coin, Summers gets his shot at Treasury(?), and campaigning Congressmen and Senators get to flex and preen for voters.
But the real game is putting a stop to the multiple crosshairs being brought to bear on Time's Person of the Year.
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