(12-06-2002) Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill Asked To Resign - CNN

[HelloAngel]

http://money.cnn.com/


O'Neill, Lindsey resign

Treasury secretary, top econ adviser leaving as Bush economic team house cleaning continues.
December 6, 2002: 10:01 AM EST


NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Larry Lindsey, the White House's top economic adviser, have both resigned, continuing the house cleaning of the Bush administration's economic team.

No successors have been announced. Reuters quoted an administration source that O'Neill was asked to resign by the White House. Wire services quoted a White House source Friday as saying Lindsey had also stepped down.

O'Neill, the former CEO of Alcoa is the second major member of the administration's economics team to announce a departure in the last four weeks. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt submitted his resignation on election night.

O'Neill's departure has long beenpredicted. He is generally seen as not being able to get along with Republicans in Congress, as well as not having the support of Wall Street.

The announcement came after news that unemployment rate in November is at an eight-year high, highlighting continued problems in the economy. The value of the dollar, already lower compared to other currencies, fell further in the wake of the news announcement. Stock markets were lower as well, but futures trading before the announcement suggested a lower open, due primarily to the weak jobs report.

"O'Neill has been more optimistic about the economy and resistant to additional stimulus, so I suppose one could read between lines that he was losing that battle, and the administration is more likely to propose aggressive stimulus now," Alan Levenson, chief economist for T. Rowe Price Associates, told Reuters.

O'Neill's letter of resignation to President Bush was brief and gave no reason for the departure.

"I hereby resign my position as Secretary of the Treasury. It has been a privilege to serve the Nation during these challenging times," said the letter. "I thank you for that opportunity I wish you every success as you provide leadership and inspiration for American and the world."

 

[HelloAngel]

What do you all think this will mean in the long run for the success of Bono's efforts with DATA?

Discuss!!

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

this is very interesting. i am also curious to see what impact if any this will have on the DATA efforts.

 

[verte76]

I don't know. It will be interesting to see who O'Neill's successor is. The press is killing O'Neill right now, saying he committed a bunch of gaffes and stuff and wasn't popular around Washington. We'll see........

 

[daisybean]

It all depends on who they get in there....

I hate to be negative, but I think bush isn't going to get someone with a vested interest in Africa. Right now Bush needs to keep his popularity up and to do that he needs a stable economy. He's gonna put someone in there that can take care of domestic issues and the foriegn issues will continue to be on the back burner

 

[verte76]

I'm afraid you're right Daisybean. There is a horrible rumor going around that it will be Phil Gramm. If so I'm afraid debt relief and every other damn thing on the agenda is fd

 

[diamond]

Lets wait and see..

Diamond

 

[Allegra]

Mmmmm....

I'm not so sure about all of this. Something just doesn't seem to add up. I wouldn't trust Bush with a ten foot pole! Just because I am a Texan, doesn't mean I'm a Bush lover. Actually my family and I call him a corporate whore. He's only in office to protect his own interests. He used to own the Texas Rangers baseball team. How did he get the money? It was oil. It was West Texas Oil! Oil is where his real interests are. That is one of the reasons why he's trying to get into the Middle East.

I would not be surprised that O'Neill was asked to leave quietly and privately. I guess now Bono is going to have to be more of a pest! Hang on to your boots folks! There's going to be a wild ride in Washington D.C.!

 

[daisybean]

Here's is Bono's take on this

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...d=765&u=/nm/20021207/people_nm/people_bono_dc


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - They were the odd couple, two guys in funny hats -- straitlaced U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Irish rocker Bono on tour in Africa last May to highlight the need for effective development.

For nearly two weeks, the unlikely duo traveled through Africa exploring the desperate needs of the region and helping bring attention to the havoc wreaked there by the HIV (news - web sites)/AIDS (news - web sites) epidemic.

By the end of it, the two had formed a bond, forged of concern about Africa, that Bono recalled on Friday in the wake of O'Neill's resignation at the White House's request.

"I saw the AIDS emergency in Africa with Paul O'Neill. I saw his convictions," said Bono, who was in Cincinnati on a seven-state tour to boost awareness of Africa's AIDS plight.


"We will miss him but this administration is committed to continuing this fight," Bono said, adding that his own campaign will continue as usual. The lead singer for the U2 rock band was hitting churches, truck stops and universities to urge Americans to pay attention to Africa's woes and to help.


In Ghana, during a visit to a remote village of mud huts, O'Neill and Bono donned striped stocking caps as part of a tribal ritual, triggering a picture-taking frenzy that landed the two on newspaper pages around the world.


Occasionally the two clashed over O'Neill's insistence that aid dollars had to produce solidly measurable results, but both men showed clear concern about helping Africans and helped put a spotlight on the seriousness of the issue.


"We're demanding results so that ultimately we save more lives, we educate more children, and we help a continent not just to survive but to thrive," O'Neill said.


They ended the trip, in Ethiopia, in harmony. "He's the man," Bono said then, referring to O'Neill's ability to spread the message in Washington about the urgency of Africa's needs.