Obama Reality Check - (More) Cabinet Retreads Edition
Obama's cabinet: the Washington Generals of government.
We swear, we don’t mean to be so repetitive in our criticism of the new president. But every day it seems like he finds a new way to break his pledge to bring “fundamental change” to our government. This time, it’s his pick of Gary Gensler to head the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
If you think the CFTC is just an obscure bureaucratic entity with no real power or influence, think again. You know how, until recently, you almost had to apply for a subprime loan to afford a tank of gas? You can thank the CFTC for that. Also, the CFTC could have headed off the worst of the financial meltdown if not for … people like Gensler. From Pro Publica, via TPM:
Gensler was a top negotiator for the White House in discussions with Congress in support of the now-controversial Commodity Modernization Futures Act of 2000. The law largely prevented the SEC and the CFTC from regulating credit default swaps and other complex instruments that would later wreak havoc with financial markets. Gensler also played a prominent role in batting down an effort by the CFTC to regulate these derivatives.
Another day passes, another insider with a poor record joins the Obama administration. The new president keeps telling people to trust him, not his team, to bring the change he’s promised. But that’s starting to sound pretty hollow. Think about it: the Washington Generals could hire John Wooden in his prime to coach them, with James Naismith himself as his assistant, and they still wouldn’t stand a chance against the Harlem Globetrotters. How is Obama’s team of Washington retreads any different?
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