The following post is by InfiniteGuest, a regular reader and frequent commenter.
Ask a friend, “What do you think of Ben Bernanke,” and you get a substantive response, making comparisons to Greenspan, speaking more generally about Central Banks, the Great Depression, society at large, widening and continuing the discussion. “What do you think of Barack Obama?” yields comparisons to President Bush, opinions on the Presidency as an institution, on health care, our wars and our foreign policy, and of course, the state of race relations in America. Ask a friend about Larry Summers, Paul Volcker or Robert Rubin and expect a long conversation to follow. Hank Paulson provokes a referendum on Goldman Sachs. The mention of Paul O’Neill or John Snow makes for a good discussion of ethics. But ask, “What do you think of Tim Geithner,” and after, “I don’t like him,” the conversation stalls.
