http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/mark-ames/38144/obama-picks-larry-summers-favorite-tennis-partner-as-his-new-economic-chiefGreat news about Obama’s new pick to head the CEA, Alan Krueger, the so-called “labor economist.” Yeah, he labors all right: He labors hard to be Larry Summers’ tennis partner. And believe you me, being Larry Summers’ tennis partner is like being a made man in the mob. Krueger understood who butters his bread in this town: Larry Summers, the same guy who took everyone else’s bread and butter, not just in America but the world over.
Yup, that’s right hopesters: Hate to break it to all you “If only Obama had the right people around him” types, Obama knows who he’s picking, and in case you haven’t noticed over the past 3 years, there’s kind of a pattern here: Obama picks the same guys Clinton or Bob Rubin or Larry Summers would pick.
Krueger worked in the Treasury Department under Geithner in 2009-10, so this is a guy who’s got the magic touch all right. (That, and the secrets to the greatest crime in mankind’s history.) Like Summers and Geithner, Krueger also worked in the Clinton Administration.
But what makes Krueger such a great pick from President Obama’s point of view is that Alan Krueger plays lots of tennis with Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, and Gene Sperling. Folks, if that doesn’t prove that this guy is “credible,” then clearly you lack a credible cross-court game.
More at the link --