I think you were wrong to side with Geithner
instead of forcing compromise with Romer and Summers regarding the breakup of
too big to fail banks. Under Geithner
they have only gotten bigger. Geithner fails
to anticipate the destination. You failed
to heed the warning signs when Volcker publicly criticized Geithner. Volcker
used his own influence to get the Volcker rule despite Geithner. That was a period where you believed you and
Geithner knew better. You didn’t understand the need for competent advisors,
who would have told you that a wise person doesn’t bet against Summers or Volcker. I don’t think Goolsbee, Axelrod or Jarrett
ever told you that.
It was a mistake not to force the Banks
to write down mortgages by using Tarp money as carrot to offset the writedown,
to salvage homeowners whose homes were underwater but could pay a mortgage
reset to market value. In March 2009, Geithner’s plan for the housing
industry wouldn’t work on paper and time has proven it. Instead of criticizing it, I spent my energies
offering an alternative which I sent to you.
I tried to pass my plan to the Treasury department but all I got was a
message telling me their mailbox was full. You failed to recognize the value of
constructive criticism and drowned with Geithner’s gifts to Wall Street while
so many everyday Americans suffered the consequences of homes under water. You have tried two unsuccessful programs to
help owners whose homes are underwater. Geithner was dismissive of the
importance of the housing market.
You didn’t understand that Management is
about making plans and executing them. So you failed to evaluate Geithner’s
plan, especially compared to mine. A bad
plan ends with bad results. You are not
getting sound advice on the effectiveness of plans.
You failed to recognize the importance
of the contributions of S. Bair and E. Warren. These two exceptional women were doing huge
good for everyday Americans. I hope the
Republicans spin this issue to show your government is against women. There was no reason to push them out. It is
my hope that they get the Eric Shinseki treatment and get to come back to
government after being wronged.
You did not have competent personnel to
deal with Congress and suffered humiliation as a result. The most obvious was the Jobs bill of mid-2011
which became a total capitulation to the Republications. What you signed was a Jobs bill in name only.
More subtle was the failure to roll back the tax cuts to those earning over
$250,000 in the fall of 2010. It was
another bad Geithner idea that cost you.
There has been mismanagement in the
Office of the President. Emanuel neglected
the administrative duties of Chief of Staff and you shouldn’t go through 4
Chief’s of Staff in 3 years. There is no
impression that the Chief of Staff is an enforcer on people like Geithner and
Holder to make them shape up.
I am annoyed that for the past 2 years, Geithner
repeats every 3 months that he will
announce a plan to deal with Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac. We know Wm
Daley was on the Board of Fannie Mae. The New York Fed, under Geithner created
the belief that housing only goes up. Tom Donilon, National Security Adviser,
was at Fannie Mae. Tom Nides, at the State Department, was at Fannie Mae. Jim
Johnson was the CEO of Fannie Mae, was on the selection committee for your vice
presidential candidate and is currently on the board of Goldman Sachs and head
of their compensation committee. You kick the can down the road.
I am surprised by your outbursts
against the Supreme Court regarding Citizens United and their review of the
Healthcare law. It is so futile for the
Executive Branch to tread on the Judicial Branch’s territory. While you’re passing wind you fail to stack
the lower Courts with Democratic appointments for 2 years. You are doing a poor
job minding your business.
I am also surprised by your dismissive
attitude towards Romney as if you never see your own failings when you look in
the mirror. I believe he affords you
much more respect than you afford him. It
makes you the lesser person. By
extrapolation, you consider my concerns worthless. Can you see that I feel Romney affords me
more respect than you? Maybe that’s why
you have made things worse for me now compared to 4 years ago. You don’t get it.
In the primaries, I was impressed with
your counter-punch retorts. There was a
feeling that you knew better than you attacker.
After entering office, you have wilted under criticisms. I have thrown many punches at you and have
struck some technical knockouts.
I am deeply disappointed in your lack
of conviction to stand by your words.
You said:
- hope and change
- build an economy on solid foundations
- your administration would hit the
ground running
- you would not run for re-election for
sake of running
- eliminate waste from government
- immigration legislation by the end of
the first year
- close Guantanamo in a year
Your failure to select the right people
to deal with Congress has arrested hope or change.
There is little progress on building an
economy on solid foundations. I
distinctly remember your first few weeks of office where you referred to it as “my
economy.” The economy is so big and complex that you cannot claim personal stewardship
and you failed to build a cohesive team to navigate the economy.
Your administration did not hit the
ground running. Government was on hold
for several months until you and Biden worked out an Afghanistan policy because you
weren’t happy with the Gates/Clinton plan.
Maybe history will show they were right.
Then it took a year to do Healthcare, a plan criticized by Bill Gates
because of ineffective cost controls.
Holder hasn’t addressed the years of Bush destruction to his department
and stumbles on day to day business. Clinton
had to turn around a battered department as well as moving forward on
policy. That’s what I call hit the ground
running.
You said you would not run for
re-election for sake of running. Well,
I’m worse off now than I was 4 years ago.
I’ve just listed my view of your record.
I can’t see what you would do differently for the next 4 years. Ten years ago companies adopted a philosophy
of continuous improvement. You lack any
sign of improving leadership. There is
no problem solving in dealing with Congress. You never talk about attacking the
$85 billion agricultural subsidy. You don’t
attack reducing the cost of post secondary education or healthcare.
The notion of eliminate waste from
government has been made a farce by the GAO, the supposed enforcers.
I hope the Hispanics understand what to
do when they hear immigration legislation by the end of the first year. Just sitting on their hands will send a
message.
My 82 year old neighbor is a very kind,
gentle person who told me she didn’t think Obama was up for the job.
