Should Geithner Resign?

在因美国国际集团(American International Group)向雇员发放1.65亿美元天价奖金而引发的政治纷扰中，财政部长盖特纳(Treasury Secretary)正在被描述成坏蛋之一。白宫发言人吉布斯(Robert Gibbs)周二力挺盖特纳，称总统奥巴马继续对这位内阁部长抱有“充分信任”，而白宫办公厅主任伊曼纽尔(Rahm Emanuel)说，盖特纳的位子没有危险。但本周，随着国会山被愤怒包围，有关盖特纳是否称职的疑问被人越来越多地提起。阿拉巴马参议员参议院银行委员会资深共和党成员谢尔贝(Richard Shelby)说，“我不知道他是否应该就此辞职。但我告诉你，这只是他似乎闭目塞听的又一个例子。”佛罗里达共和党众议员麦克(Connie Mack)周三率先发出了要求盖特纳辞职的呼吁。他在一份声明中说，“本周有关AIG奖金丑闻的消息只是在他监督之下发生的最新一起重大失误，他已经失去了美国人民的信任。”他说，很简单，盖特纳所做的事是场灾难。目前还没有民主党议员要求盖特纳下台。实际上，主要民主党人表示支持盖特纳。纽约州参议员舒默(Charles Schumer)在给美联社的一份声明中表示，“盖特纳部长是一位有能力有智慧兢兢业业的财政部长。在眼下这个严峻时刻，他是担任此职的合适人选。”但在国会之外，要求盖特纳辞职的讨论不绝于耳。自由派博客DailyKos上的一个贴子写道：“可悲的是，这件事让政府丢了脸。不过不幸的是，政府至少是咎由自取。想想吧，（纽约州总检察长）科莫(Andrew Cuomo)不得不去做本应由政府做的工作，让人们看到这个奖金方案的傲慢狂妄之处。”Susan Davis相关阅读花旗首席经济师将担任财长顾问 2009-03-18美经济学家给总统和财长打分：不及格 2009-03-12盖特纳呼吁G20采取有力措施应对危机 2009-03-12


In the ongoing political fallout over the $165 million in bonus payments paid to American International Group Inc. employees, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is being cast as one of the villains.White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Tuesday defended Geithner and said President Barack Obama continues to have 'full confidence' in his cabinet secretary, while White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel says his job is not in peril.But questions about Geithner's competence are being raised with greater frequency this week as uproar swept Capitol Hill.'I don't know if he should resign over this,' said Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee. 'But I can tell you, this is just another example of where he seems to be out of the loop.'Florida GOP Rep. Connie Mack today became one of the first lawmakers to call on Geithner to resign. 'This week's news on the AIG bonus scandal is but the latest fiasco under his watch and he has lost the confidence of the American people,' he said in a statement. 'Quite simply, the Timothy Geithner experience has been a disaster.'No congressional Democrats have yet to call on Geithner to step aside. In fact, key Democrats voiced their support. 'Secretary Geithner is a capable, smart and dedicated leader of the Treasury Department. He is the right person for the job in these challenging times,' New York Sen. Charles Schumer told the Associated Press in a statement.But outside the halls of Congress, resignation chatter has also increased. 'Sadly the administration is getting a black eye from this,' read a post on the liberal blog DailyKos. 'Unfortunately, they've earned it and then some. To think that Andrew Cuomo has to do the work of the administration to make transparent the hubris of this bonus arrangement.'Susan Davis