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Optics-obsessed Washington’s latest issue is a lack of women in high profile positions in the Obama Administration. The issue for Obama previously was not a lack of women but their treatment in his administration. Regardless, the President has now floated two women for positions within his administration.
From Bloomberg:
President Barack Obama is considering two women for senior economic positions, weighing Ruth Porat, chief financial officer at Morgan Stanley (MS), for deputy Treasury secretary and Wal-Mart Foundation President Sylvia Mathews Burwell for budget director, according to people familiar with the matter.
Porat is a leading candidate for the number two position at Treasury and would bring deeper market experience than Jack Lew, Obama’s choice for Treasury secretary, according to one of the people. She would also provide gender balance on an economics team dominated by men, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss personnel matters that haven’t been announced.
In her role as CFO at Morgan Stanley Porat has been one of the leaders in killing the Dodd-Frank regulations behind closed doors. Not surprising given her job and interests. It would be odd to put someone so antagonistic to Wall Street reform in such a high profile role, or are those the real optics Obama is concerned with.
Consider, according to the Sunlight Foundation Morgan-Stanley CFO Porat met with regulators nine times on the Dodd-Frank rules:
* 2012-03-27: Met with the Federal Reserve to express concerns on bank capital rules
* 2012-04-30: Met with the Federal Reserve to claim surcharges for Too Big To Fail banks were not necessary. Later also said regulating derivatives would hurt liquidity.
* 2011-12-14: Met with the Federal Reserve to ask for more lenient disclosure requirements for Morgan Stanley
* 2010-10-28: Met with the Federal Reserve to push back on Volker Rule and for more flexibility on Proprietary Trading
* 2010-11-02: Met with Treasury on the CFPB (no disclosures on meeting’s purpose)
* 2011-02-01: Met with Treasury on Capital and Liquidity (no disclosures on meeting’s purpose)
* 2011-05-03: Met with Treasury on the Volker Rule (no disclosures on meeting’s purpose)
* 2011-07-07: Met with Treasury on Derivatives (no disclosures on meeting’s purpose)
* 2011-01-05: Met with FDIC on Volker Rule (no disclosures on meeting’s purpose)
Remember, what is important here is that Obama is bringing more women into his administration – who those women are and what they do is apparently irrelevant. Wall Street prevails.
Photo by Susan NYC under Creative Commons license
12 Comments
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Why yes, Dan, Obama is all about appearances, not substance.
Wasn’t one of Obama’s supporter’s claims that Obama stood for women’s rights (to act just as selfishly and greedily as men)?
Lesser evildom (some say “dumb”, not I:) come “home” (rough) landing to root … or is that roost?
Some of us are simply Porat them sorts of ruthless thinks.
Please be careful, when jumping the snark, it has a bite.
However, it is all in the best of goodly humor.
What does her signature look like? Transparency matters … and you can look right through it, in an opaque, heavy sort of weigh …
Oh dear, in lew of something better, it’s the sex that matters not the questionable behaviors. Hey! How many revolving doors does this here lobby have, anyhow, anyway, or at any time? Anybody keeping count?
It is wonderful having you here, at FDL, DSWright, your writing is right on!
Your humor, quite as much as your stellar reporting, is verra much appreciated.
Carry on! (Someday, if I remember, I’ll pass along the buzzard joke that deals with a slightly different word that sounds a bit the same … but means something else.)
;~DW
Win-Win for Obama.
X2 your comment about Dan.
Great to “see” you, OmAli!!!
Have missed your moniker, of late.
DW
Good to see you, too.
This is an issue that the Washington neolib media created out of thin air. It wasn’t on anyone’s list of concerns but now the low-information lefty voters are up in lather and Obama gets to show how responsive he is to their needs through meaningless appointments of a couple of lobbyists who happen to have two X chromosomes.
Well, BO .12 is certainly proving to be going out on that better limb, eh? You know, legacy and all that.
He’s dropping all pretense at this point isn’t he. Mind blowing.
He is throwing his second term away a little more each day.
All those reasons you think Porat should not get the position… those are the reasons she’ll get the position.
Disgusting.
“Ms. Fox, could we have your input as to the best method to guard the Hen House?”
Whatta buncha shit.
Maybe Blythe Masters is available
Carte Blanche el Banco Nacional Credit Default Swaps Amen
Well, little things like Ruth Porat’s track record (and the president’s continued assault on Social Security, and the Mali debacle) get lost amid the hoopla over gun control and Oprah’s Lance Armstrong interview. Such is life in America.