...And Then There Was None...

While there appears to be no shortage of jobs over at Treasury these days, retention is another issue entirely. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s pick as chief deputy, Annette Nazareth, has withdrawn her name from consideration, citing those dreaded “personal reasons.” But please don’t take this the wrong way – it had nothing to do with vetting problems. Got it? Geithner’s choice for undersecretary of international affairs has also withdrawn her name from consideration, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. Do you notice a trend developing here?

What is most troubling to me here is that with over a month into his tenure, Geithner does not have a single top deputy or assistant secretary named to his team. So as the country attempts to weather one of the worst financial and economic storms in history, Geithner is acting as captain, first mate, navigator, chief cook and piss boy. Maybe this in part explains why Wall Street continues to tank – it has lost confidence in the administration’s ability and commitment to dealing with the problem. If Obama isn’t careful, the electorate will follow suit…