That's the implication of Noam Scheiber's profile of Summers, which suggests that Summers has become too much of a courteous institutionalist to fling Geithner out of the way and do what must be done:[W]hen it comes to the bank bailout, the consensus is that Summers has scrupulously respected Geithner's turf. It's not that Summers doesn't have opinions of his own, or that he doesn't share them with Geithner. But, to the extent the two disagree, it's Geithner who gets his way. This is perhaps one reason why the bank bailout seems, in terms of its aggressiveness and boldness, the least Summers-like of all the administration's economic plans.Adding to this point is that Summers previously recommended bringing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into receivership -- which is to say, nationalizing them -- and, according to Noam, was also the causal force behind the administration's decision to transform its planned $500 billion stimulus into a then-eye popping $800 billion bill. That said, this take on the administration's internal discussions -- informed by an array of off-the-record sources -- is also the latest in a seemingly endless series of leaks that have isolated Geithner and ensured that he will bear full burden if the banking system goes into cardiac arrest. That may be an accurate apportionment of blame. But it's also been weirdly, noticeably, concerted. That may be the administration creating a contingency plan that they can activate amidst a catastrophe or it may be that Geithner has some serious enemies who know how to use the press (I hear the latter, incidentally). Either way, everyone says Geithner needs more Assistant Secretaries, and that's true, but it also seems he needs a couple more communications people. Something has really gone awry in his press strategy.
