Hank Paulson, the last Treasury Secretary under President Bush, was interviewed by Todd Purdom of Vanity Fair Magazine over a couple of years, a total of eight times, and the material gathered was finally published today.
In the eight interviews, Paulson made it clear of his high regard for Timothy Geithner, his successor as Treasury Secretary, and Ben Bernanke, head of the Federal Reserve Board, who both worked with him during the financial crisis that broke out a year ago.
He also spoke of his admiration of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Banking Committee Chair Barney Frank of Massachusetts, presenting a very different view of both legislators than is generally reported in the news media.
While certainly there has been criticism of Paulson and his two partners under Bush who now work for Obama, it is refreshing to see a Republican who worked with Bush understanding that the situation required massive intervention, something often rejected by conservatives and Republican operatives and misunderstood by many average Americans, who seem to think that doing nothing would have been a better answer. To believe that is totally ridiculous and a sign that many American are distressingly ignorant of the economic realities we face.
It will take time and patience to get out of this Great Recession, but we are on the road to recovery, and panic, hysteria, and anger is not going to solve this crisis.