Treasury Sec. Geithner portrayed as both savior and too cosy with Wall Street

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says that key aspects of the economic policies enacted have been successful, according to new profiles of the Treasury Secretary in The New Yorker and The Atlantic which might come as a surprise to many Americans.

Geithner, who's been widely disparaged for his handling of the Wall Street bailout, is depicted as a skillful technocrat unafraid of making unpopular decisions. President Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is quoted as saying that Geithner's role in rescuing the financial sector and avoiding an outright nationalization of banks had saved the United States taxpayer a trillion dollars.

The New Yorker piece focuses on Geithner's reputation on the 2009 bank stress tests which restored much needed confidence into the financial markets. The piece’s author proffers that the Obama administration's only two options to resolve last year’s financial crisis were whether to nationalize struggling U.S. banks or to rely on private capital markets to boost the financial sector.

Geithner called for the private capital markets course, and used the stress test results to encourage investors to pour private capital into the banks. The New Yorker reported that the Obama administration reserved nationalizing banks as a weapon of last resort.

According to the piece, the capital markets were able to determine which banks were struggling and which needed more capital as a result of the stress tests; and Geithner seems to already be patting himself on the back.

The Atlantic profile also credits Geithner with saving the economy, but is more critical of Geithner's tenure. Its author portrays Geithner's legacy as one that will be linked not just to public outrage but to how Wall Street fits into Washington's core values.

Republican party's newly defined words for the current political lexicon

Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly posted a list of words that have new republican meaning in the current political lexicon.

The Republican Party’s newly defined words are as follows:

Jamming it through - To vote on a bill.

Obstructionism – Refers to Democratic minorities opposing Republican proposals.

Tyranny - Is found when an elected Democratic majority passes legislation that Republicans don't like.

Reconciliation - Describes a Senate process that Republicans are allowed to use to overcome Democratic obstructionism, such as the Republicans use of it to pass the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for the wealthy which added $ 1.7 Trillion to the deficit.

Terrorism - Refers to acts of political violence committed by people who aren't white guys.

Bipartisanship - Is found when Democrats agree to pass Republican legislation.

Big government - Describes a dangerous phenomenon to be avoided, except in cases relating to reproductive rights or gays.

Treason - Refers to Democrats criticizing a Republican administration during a war.

Patriotism - Refers to Republicans criticizing a Democratic administration during a war.

Fiscal responsibility - A national priority related to keeping our deficit in check, which only applies when Republicans are in the minority.

Parliamentarian - A supposedly independent official on the Hill who Senate Republicans are allowed to fire when the GOP disapproves of his or her rulings.

U.S. firms doing business with Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions, received $ 100 Billion in federal contracts over the last 10 years

The New York Times reported today that many U.S. companies and their foreign subsidiaries that have been doing business with Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions, had been given more than $ 100 Billion in federal contracts over the last 10 years..

Even with the threat of punishment for companies that seek US federal contracts that do business with Iran, the Times said successive administrations have struggled to exert authority over foreign companies and overseas units of US firms. Of the 74 companies identified as doing business with both the US government and Iran, 49 have no announced plans to terminate their connections with Iran.

More than two-thirds of the federal money went to companies doing business in Iran’s oil industry, a huge revenue source Iran and a stronghold of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that oversees the country’s nuclear and missile programs.

The United States has joined Britain, France and Germany to push for new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, including restrictions on Iranian banks abroad and Iran’s central bank.

The Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 gives the US president a range of actions to use against companies, but Congress is now considering tougher steps mandating that companies investing in Iran’s oil sector be denied federal contracts.

The paper said the Obama administration points to decisions by a number of companies to pull out of Iran or hold off on new investment as a sign Washington has been successful at pressing governments and executives to curtail investment in Iran.