Take Summers Off T-Sec Shortlist

Hey Tommy. I have a simple question. Why didn't Obama go to Hawaii to go to the wake and funeral for his Grandmother? She died on election eve and he had previously stated that she helped raise him. I find it kind of odd that he didn't take the time after the election to go to his Grandmother's service. I'm just asking!

Does he still own Russian oil stock? Maybe he can talk to Putin to see if he wants capitalism. Those Harvard boys are something.

Tommy, I undrstand your position here, and being an avowed Democrat, I might usually agree with you, but what he said wasn't as sexist as you make it out to sound, but more importantly, Summers is one of the sharpest economic minds out there, and given the fact that the economy is the biggest issue and of the utmost importance, I say not only to leave him on the list, but he should be the first name on it. If the people told us anything loud and clear in this election, it's that they want the economy fixed, and fixed well. So some poeple have to swallow their personal feelings a little, what would they rather have, someone competent and capable, but maybe a little politically incorrect, or someone personally squeaky clean, but not up to the task?

Summers was one of the main characters of the banking deregulation in '99 that led to the current financial crisis along with Frank, Dodd and the Dem culture of corruption. When will this Dem. corruption be investigated and all involved frog marched to prison? He also believes that "women are innately less gifted than men", "Africa is Underpolluted", "child sweatshop work in Asia is sometimes justified", "job destroying trade agreements are good for America."

I agree. Summers' comments on why there aren't more women in science make him an unacceptable candidate. I'm not saying that science needs to be more "welcoming" to stereotypical feminine behaviors, but women haven't chosen science (or mathematics or engineering) in the past because they were socialized not to do so. When I entered college in 1976, I didn't have any idea that I would encounter a hostile environment because I wanted to study engineering. It didn't occur to me that I received a fraction of the scholarship money given to boys less qualified than me simply because I was female, and it was assumed that I'd just get married and drop out anyways. None of that stopped me from becoming a scientist, but it slowed my progress considerably. I prevailed because I am incredibly stubborn. Many other women just gave up in the face of such overwhelming social pressure.

Better Summers than Geithner. Geithner deliberately let Lehman fail even though the Lehman people were explaining to him exactly what would happen if he did on Sunday Sept 14. Geithner didn't care and let Lehman fail, thereby triggering the credit crisis that will deepen the recession.

Geithner's irresponsible acts make it much less likely that Pres Obama will have the funding to help the people and give them health ins etc and otherwise realize his vision for his presidency.

Pres Obama would have won anyway although maybe not by as much. The credit crisis did not have to be triggered for him to win. Geithner benefitted himself by letting Lehman fail, since it made it more likely that Obama would win. But he hurt Obama because now Obama has much less to work with. Obama will not be able to achieve as much as he might otherwise have, because of Geithner.

Obama at last just what the united states needs, A black Alfred E. Newman, A non citizen of the United states, and a Muslim

*another word for change is revolution. gunless unarmed citizen
means it's resistanceless takeover for military dictatorship from
within or out.
*no need to wait years for "results" like bush - impeach with first broken promise or mistake. 8yrs of bad bush is already too much no more bad yrs. with obama or anyone - from presidents to mayors.
* my xmas wish – the mccains, bushes, palins (only them) get on saturday night live & make me laugh for the last time. after that boycotting media for 4yrs. liberals, democrats, media, hollywood, blacks are no human beings. any year a mccain run he should win. hilary, obama, blacks, hope, change/revolution, economy/money, anyone anything should wait - you gave bush 8 yrs. you can't give a mccain 4? and it would've been the greatest 4 yrs ever too - no one can love america better than "my friends, my fellow americans" or surplus usa like alaska palin. JUST MONEY, JUST 4 YEARS, IN EXCHANGE FOR A SOUL.. it's not "god damn america" - it's allah damn america. cheers.
*

Lisa,
Congratulations for not giving up on your dream! You helped pave the way for women who come after you! You can be very proud of your accomplishment!
It is amazing to me how much discrimination against women still exists!
This election is a perfect example of how much harsher the press is and how much higher the expectations are for women! I thought Hillary Clinton was treated horribly, not only by the media, but worse,by her own party. By any measure, she should have been the Dem candidate. There were so many factors that played into her downfall and the worst were from her party!

I don't even know where to start with the mistreatment of Sarah Palin! Like her or not, all women should be concerned about how poorly the media treated her! The issues that were made about her, her family, her clothes, every aspect of her life was picked apart. And, now, her former campaign team is bashing her! They have no shame, and will end up hurting themselves.
Anyway, I really just started this comment to tell you, Lisa, I am glad you didn't give up!

Charlie, I am so damn tired of the willful ignorance and meaness that you express. And I am saddened that there is not a hue and cry to let you know that the majority of Americans, you know the ones that have evolved past mouth breathing, thing you are an ass and they know the truth that Obama is not only a citizen of the US, but a great citizen. By electing Obama over the fear and hatred held by people such as yourself, we have proved America's possibility. Not that it matters, but Obama has never attended a Muslim Temple, nor was he educated in madras as a child. As an adult he chose for a Christian wedding ceremony and from their Baptisms forward he and his wife have raised their children in the Christian Church.

In regards to Larry Summers, I would support his appointment to the Secretary of the Treasury. The objections raised here have not been about his competence, but about his inept execution of the intricacies of academic politics. In dancing parlance, he stepped on a lot of toes.

As a Harvard alum, I was privileged to watch the mayhem that ensued after what Summers said. The faculty very nearly revolted with the academic equivalent of no confidence vote. I did not think Summers' explanation served him well and agreed that he needed to leave.

However, my opinion changed about a year ago after I saw Summers on Charlie Rose. Summers explained that he had made the statement in what he saw as the context of an academic conference where he and the other participants could freely explore different hypothesis. Summers went on to say that he had not understood that as the President of Harvard University, he could never speak in a collegial manner. And furthermore, it is worthwhile to wonder why smart, capable women do not tend to choose to choose careers in science. Maybe it has very little to do with intelligence or aptitude, but is more a reflection of the way science is practiced, the culture of science.

Finally, now that Summers is no longer President of Harvard and some time has elapsed, a fairer, more balanced assessmment of his time at Harvard is possible and it is only now that effects of some of the changes that he wrought can be discerned and judged. As president of Harvard, Summers committed Harvard to previously unheard of levels of financial aid to a far greater percentage of the student body. This has made it possible for students who might only have daydreamed of attending of a school LIKE Harvard to actually attend Harvard. Second, he instituted a culture that encouraged students to have an experience of living abroad. Not only did he advocate that students get that experience, he removed roadblocks such as the difficulty of getting credits transferred from abroad to Harvard. And, most importantly, he put his money (and his financial muscle) so that a semester abroad was not only the province of the wealthy. Third, he promoted public service and like the other policies mentioned, he did not only mandate that students should do public service, he provided financial aid so that any student, every student, could have the experience of giving back for the phenomenal opportunities they were afforded by virtue of attending Harvard. We could use an individual with the ability to plan for the long term. He won't make the mistake of underestimating the power of his office again. Finally, wouldn't it be refreshing to have someone in office who can admit a mistake and take responsibility for the consequneces whether that means resigning or getting back in there to slog through?

It should have occurred to Obama when he was soliciting the votes of the victim classes and the perpetually offended that he was going to have to vet potential cabinet appointees for any insensitive brain farts in their past prior to putting them on his short list.

Let me guess. The real sexism was against Hillary and the perceived sexism was against Sarah.

It's just a list, right?

After all the gaffes by Obama & Biden that exposed their true nature, it is shocking to me that his liberal followers would rule anyone out for anything they said in the past.

What would it matter?

Now if you go to the main AOL site, you will see that they are talking about already as to who will be running against Barack Obama in 2012. There are certainly some good candidates out there and I'm considering on voting on one of them. But what pisses me off, is the fact that HE SHOULDN'T BE IN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! I MEAN! IF THE SO-CALLED CONSERVATIVES VOTING HIM IN WASN'T BAD ENOUGH!!, THEN IT'S THE FACT THAT THE SO-CALLED BASE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY THE CONSERVATIVES I MEAN, THE LIBERALS MASQUERADING TO BE CONSERVITIVES DIDN'T VOTE AT ALL!!! THOSE GOT D$#% M&%$@# F%$#@& B&%#$ A#$ PEOPLE DIDN'T WANT TO VOTE FOR JOHN MCCAIN, BECAUSE HE WASN'T AS CORRUPT AS THOSE PUNK A#@ M&$%#$ F%$#@#$! MCCAIN WAS ACTUALLY IN FAVOR OF HELPING PEOPLE! HELPING THE POOR!! AND GETTING PEOPLE OUT OF FINANCIAL TROUBLE!!! YOU GOT D#@$ M%^$#@ F%$#!@ B%#$@ A#$ FAKE CONSERATIVES ARE NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF LIBERAL NAZIS!!! YOU HEAR ME!! NAZIS!! YEAH I WENT THERE!!! YOU GOT D$#% M#@%$& F&%$#@ B&*$% A## PEOPLE THINK THAT CONSERVATISM MEANS SQUASHING THE MINORITIES WHILE RAISING THE ARYAN RACE!!! THAT'S ACUALLY LIBERALISM!!!YOU HEAR ME YOU NAZIS!! LIB-ER-AL-ISM!!! AND YOU FAKE CONSERVATIVES A.K.A LIBERALS DIDN'T LIKE THE FACT THE JOHN MCCAIN EXPOSE YOUR GOT D$#@ M&%#%$ F%#@$& B&*%$ PUNK A@#ES FOR WHO YOU REALLY WERE!!LIBERALS!!LIBERALS!!!LIB-ER-ALS!!! OHHHHH I'M NOT DONE CURSING Y'ALL OUT YET YOU GOT D#@$ M&$^#@$ F&%^#$ B*&%^ PUNK A@$ LIBERALS HAVE THE AUDASITY TO CALL YOURSELVES CONSERVATIVES WHEN YOU ARE NOT LOYAL TO YOUR OWN PARTY!!! HELL!! YOU ARE NOT EVEN LOYAL TO YOUR OWN BELIEFS!! LET ALONE YOUR PARTY!! YOU GOT D#@$ M&^$%# F%@#$@ B#*^& PUNK A$% LIBERALS THINK YOU'RE IN 1940s GERMANY!!! YOU M%#$@^ F%^&$# CORRUPT D#@$S^&%&*S OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES FOR LETTING JOHN MCCAIN LOSE THE WAY HE DID!!! YOU SHOULD JUST COME OUT THE CLOSET!! AND ADMIT THAT ALL OF YOU FAGOT A#$ M&$%#@ F&$%@& ARE LIBERALS!!! YOU SHOULD RESIGN FROM YOUR CONSERVATIVE BELIEFS AND JUMP ON THE LIBERAL BANDWAGON AND START SUCKING THEIR D%#@S!!!OHHHHH I'M NOT DONE WITH Y'ALL YET, I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT BY THE TIME I GET DONE CURSING Y'ALL A@# OUT!! YOU'LL HATE THIS WORLD!!! YOU GOT D@#$ M%$#@# F%#$@# B&*$@ A@# LIBERALS OUGHT TO JUST RETIRE FROM POLITICS!!BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY YOU DON'T APPRECIATE THE THINGS THAT WAR VETERANS LIKE JOHN MCCAIN HAVE DONE FOR YOOOOU IN REGARDS TO THIS COUNTRY!! I MEAN!! EVERY SINGLE TIME PEOPLE LIKE JOHN MCCAIN AND BOB DOLE FOR THAT MATTER DO SOMETHING EXTRORDINARY FOR THIS COUNTRY!! YOU REWARD THEM BY TREATING THEM LIKE SHIT!!SHIT!!SHIT!!! AND THESE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO FOUGHT TO PRESERVE FREEDOM FOR THIS COUNTRY!! MAYBE IF YOUR FREEDOM WAS ELIMINATED!!!YOU HEAR ME E-LIM-IN-AT-ED!!! THAT'S RIGHT I WENT THERE TOO!!! MAYBE Y'ALL GOT D#$% M&%^$% F%$#@# B&*%^ PUNK A@#ES WILL FINALLY APPRECIATE THE PEOPLE WHO TRY TO PRESERVE IT FOR THIS COUNTRY!!!!!

It never ceases to amaze me how easily individuals, esp. men commenting on this blog, can rationalize away sexist remarks. Would they feel the same way had Larry Summers said something equally racist or anti-Semitic? There do need to be standards for Cabinet members, and competence is one of them, but not the only one. Keep him as an occasional advisor/consultant, if that. Cabinet posts need to be held by honorable people.

Debra S.10:06PMNov 9th 2008

It never ceases to amaze me how easily individuals, esp. men commenting on this blog, can rationalize away sexist remarks. Would they feel the same way had Larry Summers said something equally racist or anti-Semitic? There do need to be standards for Cabinet members, and competence is one of them, but not the only one. Keep him as an occasional advisor/consultant, if that. Cabinet posts need to be held by honorable people.
______________________________

Debra S -

If what Summers said is so offensive to women, then why would you sacrifice your conviction even slightly by suggesting "an occasional advisor/consultant"?

Us men, for some reason, can detach ourselves from oversensitivity sometimes to make use of good talent. No one is a saint. Everyone has a past. Lest we forget, the press has a way of memorializing our darkest moments.

I don't know Summers very well, but I doubt he is the poster boy for the I Hate Women League.

It seems that the bar is being set a wee bit high. Is this man being considered for a cabinet post or sainthood? Of course everyone knows that college faculty would NEVER allow politcal correctness to override common sense. Personally I have no knowledge or opinion of this man's abilities, but they seem to be well respected. But by all means, let's refuse the help of anyone who has ever made an ill timed or politically incorrect statement. It's not like we have any serious problems to deal with. I'm sure that instead, we could find people of the caliber that led the last administration where qualification was based on the repetition of dogma. Perhaps John Ashcroft has a brother or sister? Who's running the Arabian horse shows these days? Maybe they are availbable.

The main reasons Summers is the best candidate for Treasury is that (a) Volker is too old to be more than a transitional figure and (b) Geithner is well-connected closet Republican and Kissinger acolyte but clearly underqualified--no PhD in economics, no operational experience in investment or commercial banking, a record of selling out to private sector banking interests in the bailout negotiations he conducted earlier this year as head of the New York Fed, a failure to see that shoring up bank equity is more important than buying toxic assets with public funds, etc.

Add to that the fact that Robert Rubin is a corrupt and overcautious Clinton re-tread, Tyson is a simply incompetent Clinton re-tread, and Bair is still trying to figure out how to do her current job at FDIC, and you have to conclude that Larry is all you've really got left.

Barack is leaking this info to make it appear that he is in-sync with the Hillary crowd.

It ain't gonna happen.

No matter the cabinet position, Clinton-era figures will be mentioned and passed up.

The fact of the matter is that Barack does not like Hillary, Bill, or anyone else within the Clinton administration. He does not want anything in HIS administration to look like it was influenced by anyone but Barack Obama.

I can respect that. I just wish they'd come out and say it.