Impressing the Inner Circle--A Lesson in Wealth, Ability and Power
Henry M. (Hank) Paulson Jr. is apparently a hell of a fine choice for George Bush’s nominee to be Secretary of the Treasury. Criticized for making consistently political selections of yes-men, sycophants and contributors for sensitive and powerful positions in government, Bush grabbed a critic and an environmentalist, Chairman of Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs, to head Treasury.
None too quickly. The money-thing hasn’t been a Bush priority. Paulson, who is brilliantly qualified to pick up the crumbling pieces of the country’s economic tailspin, will probably enjoy an autonomy that was denied Paul O’Neill and John Snow. Both were criticized as unable to break in to the administration ‘inner circle.’
They were industry guys, lesser or equal luminaries to Cheney and Rumsfeld. By comparison, Paulson is a Wall Street rock star.
Dick Cheney was just CEO of Halliburton and, no matter the fame and infamy of Halliburton, it was (and is) a mid-level corporate bore, #153 on the Fortune 500. T…