Well, that's a relief.

[randomness]

From David Wessel's story in the Wall Street Journal:

Lawrence Summers pulled out of the contest to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve after weeks of public excoriation, forcing President Barack Obama to move further down the list of contenders to head the central bank.

Summers' letter to the President is available from the Wall Street Journal as a pdf.

Comments

[drwex]

Yeah, I startled my D&D players on Sunday by shouting "Yeah!" when I happened to be on Twitter and the news broke.

None of them understand why but this is a Very Big Deal. Obama essentially got his ass handed to him by three leftist Democrats in the Senate. There will be hell to pay at some point, but I'm glad people I like are finally standing up and pushing for things I want.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

None of them understand why but this is a Very Big Deal.

Yeah. Second most powerful position on the planet, and most people don't know about it or understand why it is.

I questioned Obama's judgement when he floated Summers' name in the first place, and I'm glad--and surprised--it worked out this way.

[drwex]

Obama values "team players" and people he knows. I was disappointed but not surprised when Summers' name initially came up. I was more surprised that Obama didn't quietly back away when it became clear this was a bad choice.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Obama values "team players" and people he knows.

This is particularly true in economics. Trouble is, the people he knows are largely Bob Rubin's guys.

I was more surprised that Obama didn't quietly back away when it became clear this was a bad choice.

I'm not at all sure Obama thinks Summers is a bad choice, even now. I think he just understands Summers wouldn't be confirmed.