March 5, 2009
Geithner OMG
At the NY Fed, the supposed watchdog had an all too cozy relationship with Wall Street and Citi Group. Once nominated for Treasury Secretary, he stumbled out of the gate as a result of several years shorting his taxes. He stumbled again with the “O” banking plan. He owes Summers like Cheney owed Rummy. Above all — and this is not just superficial, given his role as the combined Mr. Fixit and U.S. Communicator-in-Chief of the financial meltdown — Tim Geither doesn’t come off assertive, personable or even that relatable.
This photo by Ben Lowy, taken as the Administration was settling in, leads off a slide show at Fortune titled “Inside Obama’s economic war room.”
If you pay any attention at all to news photos of NYSE traders, you’ll recognize this pose. Gripping the head has become the slightly more contained equivalent of throwing up one’s hands — a sort of sign language for “OMG, we’re going to hell.” Funny thing is, as both a key public figure as well as an avid picture taker, you would think Geithner would understand the importance of making eye contact with (a currently freaked-out) America.
Observing Geithner these past few weeks, some people smell nerves, fear or intimidation. I’m not sure at this point whether it couldn’t just be inhibition or shyness. Whatever it is, however, I don’t have to add that this image, far from unique, is more indicative. I think the photo was shot in TG’s White House office.
I welcome your take on the Secretary here as well as his environs. And, just for good measure, here’s the very next photo of Geithner — which is equally if not more awkward, I’m afraid.
Slide show: “Inside Obama’s economic war room.” (FORTUNE). In Geithner We Trust? (Business Mirror)
(h/t: Victoria. .images: Benjamin Lowy/VII Network)
Update 5/5/08:
Okay, I was clearly a little hard on TG above. As reader tearusapartt suggests, how he comes off in public shouldn’t matter nearly as much as if he can rescue the banking system. Here he is yesterday at Obama’s Health Care Forum cracking up with Senator Grassley. (click for full size.)
13 Comments Leave a comment
tearusapartt said:
People need to give this young man a chance without criticizing him to bits from the get-go. He’s a highly intelligent, capable person who just happens to be socially awkward. From what I’ve read about him he’s an easy going, personable guy who is not too fond of public speaking/media attention. So the constant cheap shots at his character and his physical appearance are getting tired. Yes he looks younger than he is, yes he needs to work on his delivery. Har-har he forgot to pay some taxes. Enough already.
He looks incredibly troubled and stressed out in these photos. I don’t know how anyone can look at them and not feel for him. I wish him and the rest of Team Obama all the success in the world. A lot of people are depending on them.
bystander said:
Yeah, well. That’s about the only pose one could strike in response to this disaster. And, I imagine Tim hits that pose daily. As someone elsewhere observed, Tim probably gets out of bed every morning wondering what in the hell he’s going to do about what he knows, and fights the urge to go back to bed and pull the covers over his head. Still, he drags his sorry self into the office, peels another layer off the onion, finds things are even worse than he knew, hits the pose above, and fights another urge to go back to bed and hide.
It’s a hell of a mess he’s walked into. And, if he’s a reasonable human being, he should have a sense that he helped create the mess in which he stands. As much as I feel a level of sympathy for him as a fellow human, I reserve some ire at his hubris for being an active participant. As others speculate, he knows he needs to nationalize (using the term of the day) the banks, but can’t bring himself to do it, knowing the result he anticipates could worsen things over all.
I imagine that pose as “brain freeze.” More variables are swirling in his cranium than his neurons can process. The hand to the head in an effort to still the babble of thoughts. None of those thoughts showing a way out which preserves the system as we now know it.
Porter said:
These fine shots of Geitner are photos that speak to me of the game photographers play with themselves when they know they are getting a good shot that might speak to the larger story, even when the shot itself doesn’t reflect the reality of the situation.
It looks to me like Geitner is using the speaker phone, and his distraction makes him look deep in thought and/or worry. For all we know, he was making a dentist appointment.
Regardless, the dance between journalist and subject over access and coverage is an age-old one, and Geitner knows the steps – or at least he should, before getting on the dance floor with an expert like Lowy.
FML said:
The one thing that’s not part of this scene is the fact that, according to news reports, Geithner is basically being left to operate by himself, with no staff — Obama’s people have not gotten around to naming any undersecretaries or deputies for the Treasury Department as of yet. I’d be tearing my hair out and looking lost if I were in that situation too.
Gasho said:
While these shots alone convey some kind of dread, the whole series shows people at work on the problem. In fact, these first two shots (this one and the one the Bag links to — the second shot in the series) create a miniature plot to the 10 photos. The first shot shows the Problem. The second shows TG calling in the support – with an almost comically huge desk phone and three mobile phones! – and the rest of the series is the meetings that take place after the calls.
Taking a look at the first photo in total isolation, though, it’s pretty interesting. The huge desk keeps drawing my attention. Big desk. Big Job. Shiny clean, but mostly full. The history of past officers is literally reflected in the surface – as is the current office and his woes. But the desk is strong and it’s seen some tough times before and always, there is a way forward.
It reminds me of this”>http://search2.famsf.org:8080/mygallery/view.shtml?record=119375>this carved figure from Africa, with his large hands raised to the sky representing the ancestors and the trials that they went through. This figure is supposed to remind you that no matter how bad things are, we’ve been through it before and we did ok.
Gasho said:
OOPS. Sorry. That link is FUBAR. Can we edit entries? My bad.
rapier said:
Situation hopeless. It is a surprise he was offered the job, a shock that he took it. Both were mistakes. The picture is yet to be taken which shows that. That will be the one where he is shown leaving the Treasury for the last time. The Treasury ruined.
lytom said:
Office place with no room to move about. The limited access to window. The door that opens into the room and makes it hard for others to come in or to leave…Lack of maneuvering. Well all that could ascribe to the “plan.”
Thirdeye Pushpin said:
of subtle significance I find that his relection in the desk is hidden by the papers and shows his hand held head…where am I? Who am I? Can anyone here help me? His personal distress echoes the financial crisis collectively. The Photo does not inspire confidence.
yg said:
obama must know something about him not apparent to others. i don’t know if geithner is one but geniuses aren’t known for their social graces. let geithner formulate but perhaps have goolsbee sell the thing. he’s does an amazing job breaking down complex concepts and making them plain and rebutting republican counter arguments. i’m starting to think volcker is being held in reserve as the “nuclear option”; a fail safe to break out of glass in case all else fails.
one thing that does worry me is when it comes time to reform the tax code. geithner’s issues won’t make it insurmountable, but it will make the hill harder to climb.
cenoxo said:
Looks like the window is the only way out…
…will all the taxpayers’ money that’s been thrown out first soften the landing?
One old rule for those looking to become political leaders is to “Find a crowd that’s going somewhere and get in front of it.”
The trick is knowing when to step aside.
Victoria Trostle said:
After reading the comments here, I spent a day or so periodically putting my hands to my head to feel what it meant to me. Usually, it worked as a centering device, to quiet an over-active mind, to shut out all noise. As if trying to transcend the purely mental, to tap the more brilliant intuitive mind. Searching for the needed a-ha.
During the same period, I heard multiple media comments by various financial experts insisting that “no one knows” (the depths of the dilemma) and “it’s anyone’s guess” what it will take to turn the tide. Which suggests the phrase “in over their heads.” Interesting: What got us here – “in over their heads” + “out of their minds” – continues as we search for the cure.
Today’s New York Times (3/9) has two interesting follow-up pics to this post. On the front of the Business section, we have Geithner, the serious hard worker, at his desk, with those former Dead White Men Treasury Secretary images floating as somewhat ghost-like reflections in the glass. (Are our golden successes in the past?) Follow the story to the inside pages and there is Geithner about to testify before Congress, in a down angle, once again looking small, diminished. This has been a pattern with Geithner: never playing as well in the public settings.
Which brings me to what Eli Wiesel said about losing a fortune to Madoff, “We trusted him with everything, we thought he was God.” – Perhaps it is just right that Geithner doesn’t come across (or appear for the camera) as such a Potent Force. Part of what we seem to be learning here is not to believe in men as gods, masters of the universe, etc. The illusions of hierarchy are dying. A time for going down (grounding, democratic empowerment), not up (bubbles, surrendering to power-over).
yg said:
just finished reading the business mirror column, thanks. didn’t know that geithner had, early on, warned about the dangers of credit default swaps.
one thing though, in pbs frontline special on the market meltdown, they explained the feds failure to bailout lehman, when they bailed out bear stearns previously, was because conservative hank paulson cleaved to ideology and failed to rescue lehman out concern for “moral hazard.” he didn’t want other firms to think they could depend on the government to bail them out. they also hinted at paulson’s previous rivalry with lehman’s ceo fuld (back when paulson was ceo of goldman sachs) as another reason paulson failed to act.