A Little Of The Old In And Out



(image via timesonline)

In: Bill Clinton, Shadow Secretary of State. Bringing Hillary Rodham Clinton in at State may go down as one of the more savvy political maneuvers in the history of the actions of President's-elect operating in the crowded, abbreviated theatre between election and inauguration. In 1992, Bill Clinton asked us, charmingly, to elect him President because we would get two for the price of one; a decade and a half of political seasoning later, the Clintons are twice as valuable to American foreign policy in a post-Bush era of global ill will and broken international relationships. Bill Clinton's charm -- and his new found political relevance as his wife's shadow -- represents a perfect opportunity for the use of American soft power. From the salmon-colored weekly:

"Within days of Hillary Clinton's confirmation as secretary of state, her husband already appears to be applying his skills and connections in the service of the new administration's diplomacy.

"Upon arriving here on Wednesday afternoon, he conducted a series of quiet meetings with foreign leaders that culminated in an intense late-night discussion with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The two former presidents met at a Sheraton hotel where Putin held a private party, following an early evening reception at a local museum hosted by Clinton.

"Putin greeted Clinton cordially as 'our good friend' as they raised glasses of vodka and then listened to a pianist pound out 'In the Hall of the Mountain King.' When the musical entertainment concluded, they moved to a table in a separate room with access strictly controlled by Secret Service and Russian security agents. Flanked by aides and an interpreter, the two men talked for nearly 90 minutes before they rose and walked out together for a few pictures with partygoers and members of Clinton's entourage.

"Neither man commented on the substance of their discussions, and there was no indication that Clinton was carrying a particular message to the Russian leader. But the Obama administration has signaled its intention to seek greater Russian cooperation on issues such as the Iranian nuclear program. And Putin's public remarks at the World Economic Forum yesterday were encouraging if vague as he called for more constructive relations between Moscow and the West."

The influence of Bill Clinton -- whose Clinton Foundation is suffused with soft power in the emerging world and India -- as well close Clinton family friend Nelson Mandela (Clinton visits Mandela for his birthday every July; the two have a seriously adorable bromance) will have unprecedented influence in the politics of sub-Saharan Africa. We would even make an educated guess that the capture of rogue General Laurent Nkunda in the Eastern Congo immediately prior to Obama's inauguration might have Clintonian fingerprints. It just might. More here.



Out: The Madoff Aftermath. We are now in the second wave of Bernie Madoff's villainy; Madoff 2.0, if you will. In the first iteration, the powerful -- and not so powerful -- from NYC to the Hamptons to Palm beach vented, at oftentimes Wagnerian length, about their exposure to Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Now, in part the second, institutions that have a proximate-cause relationship with those who have been directly affected by Madoff presently feel the burn. Wells Fargo, for instance, wrote off $294 million because some of its customers were wiped out by Madoff’s amoral scheme and were unable to pay their loans. Now, sadly, Brandeis ("Where did April come up
with terms like 'organic form'? Well, naturally. She went to Brandeis). From TheDailyBeast:

"Brandeis University, which claims Irving Howe, Thomas Friedman, Christie Hefner and Walt Mossberg among its alums—and trustees such as Michael Steinhardt, Vartan Gregorian, and John Rosenwald — has incurred the wrath of the art world for deciding to shut down its Rose Art Museum and sell off its famed collection, which was valued at $350 million in 2007.

"No one could understand why, with what was said to be a $10 million operating deficit over five years, the university’s trustees would take such a drastic step. Even the museum’s director went on attack, saying the Rose, which according to the university’s own website 'houses what is widely recognized as the finest collection of modern and contemporary art in New England,' not only pays its own way but contributes to the university’s funds. The collection, largely donated over the years, includes seminal works by Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Morris Louis, Matthew Barney, Cindy Sherman, and Richard Serra, among others.

"But in an exclusive interview, Peter French, Brandeis’s chief operating officer, explained that the university’s situation is far more dire than it appeared in news accounts, which extrapolated the $10 million figure from published documents. He objected to the word 'bankrupt,' but what would you call an institution with a projected deficit of $79 million over the next six years, a tapped-out reserve fund, a shrunken endowment and 'quite a number' of big donors hit hard by the Madoff scandal?"

More here.



In: A Payroll Tax Cut? Would a payroll tax cut stimulate the consumer spending in a faltering economy with rising unelmployment or would the declining government revenues it would cause be more of a problem than a fix? From Lawrence B. Lindsay in this mornings Wall Street Journal:

"Congress and the Obama administration seem near to deciding the details of an economic stimulus package. Unlike the efforts of President Ronald Reagan and President George W. Bush, who also inherited declining stock markets and shrinking economies, this package is heavily weighted toward direct government spending, transfers to state and local governments, and tax changes that have virtually no effect on marginal tax rates.

"Today the Reagan tax cuts are widely viewed as successful. Opinions on the longer-term effects of the Bush tax cuts are more diverse, but the short-term effects of the 2001 and 2003 cuts are generally credited as having been well-timed.

"And what of the plan being put forward now? As crafted, it is unlikely to produce the desired results. For a similar amount of money, the government could essentially cut the payroll tax in half, taking three points off the rate for both the employer and the employee. This would put $1,500 into the pocket of a typical worker making $50,000, with a similar amount going to his or her employer. It would provide a powerful stimulus to the spending stream, as well as a significant, six percentage point reduction in the tax burden of employment for people making less than $100,000. The effects would be immediate."

Leaving aside the question of the success of Reagan's tax cuts and the deficits they incurred, the idea of a modest payroll tax cut -- something along the lines of the Middle Class tax cut he promised during the general election -- sounds solid and is generating much discussion this morning in the blogosphere and among the Chattering Classes. More here.