BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

Stocks have been in a downward spiral for the past few weeks, seemingly being sucked into one of the universe’s black holes. These events have come primarily since Congress handed the $700 Billion check to Henry Paulson.

Today the stock market seemed to see a glimmer of the hope the rest of us campaigned for. Stocks, following a two day free fall, rallied within minutes of word that Timothy Geithner would be named Secretary of the Treasury in the Obama administration.

A relative unknown outside the the world of high finance, Geithner is a self-described career bureaucrat who since March has worked closely with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. to devise a response to the most critical events of the market turmoil, including the bailouts of Bear Stearns and American International Group and the controversial decision to let Lehman Brothers to fail.

It appears that as a career bureaucrat, Geithner has few bedfellows on Wall Street. However, he has worked very closely with Hank Houdini on the bailout.

Geithner, at 47, would be one of the youngest Treasury secretaries in the nation’s history. Joining him would be Jason Furman, 38, as a top White House economic adviser; Peter R. Orszag, 39, as White House budget director; and Austan Goolsbee as a member of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, sources familiar with the matter said.

As an older citizen, I am more than pleased to see young blood moving into a few key positions. It became evident throughout the presidential primaries and the general election that there is a need for new ideas and young blood to lead our country into the 21st century. This is not to dismiss the value of age and experience, but times have changed. With new technology and the new global economy, some of us are sitting on the sidelines befuddled by such terms as “credit default swaps” and “derivatives.”

All things aside, the stock market rally would have probably occurred with any announcement from the Obama transition team. So, whether it was Geithner’s name that spurred the rally, or the name of anyone except Henry Paulson, it was a good day for the stock market.

Let’s hope it is a good beginning for the Obama economic team.