Anybody for Volcker?

This was supposed to be Tim Geithner's big day, his moment in the sun (as I think Obama put it last night) when he would at last unveil the new administration's plan to ease the credit crisis. Politically, it was also his chance to tell the American people why he was such a strong candidate for the job as Treasury Secretary - even with those embarrassing tax troubles. So what happens? Geithner is noticeably vague, outlines a less-than-convincing plan for dealing with toxic banks assets, and keeps telling CNBC that this is complicated stuff. We realize that, Tim. All told, not an auspicious beginning, which probably explains a nearly 400-point drop in the Dow. The stock tumble really took some doing because Wall Street has been noticeably blase about the recent batch of bad economic news. From CNBC:

WILLIAMS: DOES IT BOTHER YOU THAT BY THE TIME I SAW IN THE HALLWAY OUTSIDE THIS ROOM YOU WERE STILL COMING FROM THE SPEECH, THE DOW WAS TANKING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 300 POINTS?

GEITHNER: AS I SAID, THIS IS -- I THINK PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THIS, CERTAINLY THE MARKETS UNDERSTAND THIS, THAT THIS IS AN ACUTE AND SEVERE AND COMPLICATED FINANCIAL CRISIS, AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS TO BE HONEST AND OPEN WITH PEOPLE ABOUT HOW HARD THIS IS GOING TO BE AND TO BE HONEST AND DIRECT THAT IT'S GOING TO COST RESOURCES AND IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE THE GOVERNMENT TAKING RISKS THAT THE MARKET CANNOT TAKE. BUT THAT'S WHAT GOVERNMENTS EXIST TO DO. THESE THINGS WILL NOT BURN THEMSELVES OUT. THE ONLY WAY FORWARD IS FOR US TO TRY TO MOVE AS COMPREHENSIVELY AS WE CAN TO AGAIN TRY TO GET CREDIT FLOWING AGAIN.

Clusterstock's Joe Weisenthal properly notes that "simply saying over and over again, words like honest and clear aren't actually the same about being honest and clear." There's no way Obama is going to switch players at this late stage, but you can be sure there are a bunch of folks who regret that this guy didn't pull out when the tax problems were first disclosed.