Christina Romer To Leave White House - reportedly "frustrated" by lack of direct line to POTUS.

[jefferson_dem]

Romer To Leave White House
August 5, 2010 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | Share This

By Kirk Victor

Christina Romer, chairwoman of Pres. Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, has decided to resign, according to a source familiar with her plans.

Romer, an economics professor at the University of California (Berkeley) before taking the key admin post, did not respond to repeated calls to her office.

"She has been frustrated," a source with insight into the WH economics team said. "She doesn't feel that she has a direct line to the president. She would be giving different advice than Larry Summers , who does have a direct line to the president."

"She is ostensibly the chief economic adviser, but she doesn't seem to be playing that role," the source said. The WH has been pounded for its faulty forecast that unemployment would not top 8% after its economic stimulus proposal passed.

Instead, the jobless rate is 9.5%, after exceeding 10% last year. It was "a horribly inaccurate forecast," said Bert Ely, a banking consultant. "You have to wonder why Summers isn't the one that should be taking the fall. But Larry is a pretty good bureaucratic infighter."

http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/08/romer_to_leave.php

[indepat]

1. God, what a swell world it would be if only the really, really bad were the ones leaving

:P

[rhombus]

2. 'a source with insight into the WH economics team said'

Please. I'd wait to hear from her first and draw my own conclusions. The press loves infighting/drama stories.

[w4rma]

3. Don't Quit that job!!! unless they make you or you suck. (nt)

[The Northerner]

4. Really? How unexpected.

[Triana]

5. She's been 'Brooksley Born'd'

Marginalized. Shoved to a back room and told to push paper and STFU and let the men make the decisions and talk to the important people - like the President.

Larry Summers' "math" is consistently faulty. Who is surprised by that? He never had any reason to criticize women for their math skills - whether they had a penis to keep THEIR brain in or not. His doesn't seem to be helping him much. Pfft. Even more sadly, it isn't helping US much, either.

[boppers]

6. She doesn't return her calls, and wonders why people don't talk to her?

:eyes:

[ljm2002]

10. What an absurd comment.

She is not returning calls now, because they are all from the press and she doesn't want to discuss it publicly right now.

There is nothing in the piece suggesting that during her tenure she would not have returned calls from, say, Summers or Obama.

Sheesh.

[Enrique]

11. just looking for something

don't know anything about Romer, but she's sounding anti-Obama in this article, so gotta find something to criticize her for.

[roxiejules]

7. 'Girls Are No Good at Math' club strikes again

and again during a Democratic presidency.

http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2009/marapr/features/born.html

[LittleBlue]

8. More like girls are too good at math, and Summers doesn't like it

And apparently, Obama backs Summers despite being wrong on just about everything.

But hey, Romer isn't an investment banker.

[old mark]

9. The "News" on MSNBC this morning stated only that Romer is leaving to return to teaching...

there was NO MENTION of conflict with the administration's inner circle. Obama's bunch reminds me of
General MacArthur's "Bataan Gang", a tight circle of advisors who kept opinions other than their own from reaching the top man. Those outside the circle were belittled and ignored.
It is sad - she would really be an asset, if anyone would listen to her.


mark