Confidence Men
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 First edition of HarperCollins, 2011 | |
| Author | Ron Suskind |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Politics |
| Publisher | Harper |
Publication date | September 20, 2011 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 528 |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-142925-5 |
Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington and the Education of a President is a book by journalist Ron Suskind, published by HarperCollins on September 20, 2011.
It details members of the White House during the Obama administration, as well as interactions between figures such as economic advisor Lawrence Summers, Treasury secretary Timothy F. Geithner, former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and budget director Peter R. Orszag.[1]
Having obtained an advance copy of the book, The New York Times published a review on September 15, 2011, writing that it "offers a portrait of a White House operating under intense pressure as it dealt with a cascade of crises, from insolvent banks to collapsing carmakers. And it details the rivalries among figures around the president," including economic advisor Lawrence Summers; Treasury secretary Timothy F. Geithner; former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel; and budget director Peter R. Orszag."[1]
The following day, The Washington Post elaborated on the content of the book, citing the allegation that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner ignored a directive from the president to draw up plans for restructuring Citibank in the spring of 2009. The article also notes that in an interview in the book, Geithner denies the account saying "I don't slow-walk the president on anything". The White House pushed back against the book in spite of having granted Ron Suskind an interview with the president, with communications director Dan Pfeiffer saying that books like these "tend to take the normal day-to-day activities of governing and infuse them with drama, palace intrigue and salacious details".[2]
While some faulted Suskind for giving greater credence to the views of sources who gave him more journalistic access others praised him for doing the opposite. In his review for The New York Times, Joe Nocera wrote "to his everlasting credit, Suskind savages several people he clearly spent time interviewing, starting with Obama's former chief economic adviser, Larry Summers, and Timothy Geithner, his Treasury secretary. And he's more than willing to step outside his re-created scenes to conduct interviews, in which Obama aides and allies tell truths that are genuinely painful to hear."[3]
According to the book President Obama supported a financial transaction tax on trades of stocks, derivatives, and other financial instruments, but he was blocked by Summers.[4]
