Bloomberg News' Hans Nichols reports that White House economic adviser Larry Summers will be leaving the administration after the November elections. Summers, as director of the National Economic Council, has been a lead architect of President Barack Obama's economic recovery policies. Those policies, particularly the stimulus, have been attacked from the right as too expensive and from the left as stopping too short. The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza has been one of the few high-profile pundits to endorse Summers's strategy.
Whispers began in January that Summers, a famously difficult personality, had fallen out of favor in the White House. A handful of writers, including The Atlantic's Josh Green, have more recently predicted that Summers would depart. There will surely be more analysis to come, but here are the first-order reactions to the news. They address the immediate questions of whether this will help Democrats in the elections, what it means for economic policy, if Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is to follow, and who will replace Summers. Mostly, the open disdain for Summers is on full display from both ends of the partisan spectrum.
#Bloomberg
reporting NEC's Larry Summers will step down after elections. He's a big
reason #Chrysler is still alive today
David
Shepardson
davidshepardson
Will Larry
Summers be this year's Donald Rumsfeld, leaving too late to do his party
any good?
klhoughton
klhoughton
Reports that
Larry Summers WOULD leave before election but Admin having problem
finding someone as experienced as Summers at being wrong.
emptywheel
emptywheel
Goodbye #Larry Summers,
hello to the Obama admin doubling down on Keyensian demand side
policies.
Joseph
Brusuelas
joebrusuelas
Apparently Larry
Summers is out after election; finally a chance to get a nap without
everyone watching.
SalenaZito
SalenaZito
Imagine folks on
all political sides anxious to chip in for Larry Summers goodbye
party.$$
lynn
nymeca
Will Geithner
survive past Nov? RT @zerohedge: Larry Summers Said To Leave White
House In Two Months http://bit.ly/cOLhOe
Matt
O'Brien
ObsoleteDogma
Larry Summers
leaving after Nov. elections? A huge loss for the Administration and
country--moderating influence to wild-eyed Dems. Too bad!
Dan
Roberts
sparkysundevil
> Larry
Summers is all set to leave the White House in November. The rats are
fleeing the sinking ship after causing the ship to sink.
Goldtwatter
Goldtwatter
Larry Summers To Join His Own Unemployment Statistics http://bit.ly/bkWWhr
Wonkette
Wonkette
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