Why else would the magazine profile the Quadrangle Group
founder and ask "will he go to Washington?" if it's not assuming Obama
will win in November? The story goes so far as to handicap the
possibility of Obama tapping Rattner, the former Morgan Stanley and
Lazard media investment banker-turned-buyout maven, as Treasury
secretary.
Although Newsweek floats the idea--there's been
speculation about Rattner at Treasury for years--it then tosses cold
water on the possibility by arguing that his lack of experience as a CEO of a major
bank will likely quash any chance of receiving the "favor" despite his
Obama fundraising and efforts to bring Democrats together after a
bruising campaign. It's hard to fathom that bank CEOship is really that
necessary, particularly given how poorly the banks have performed.
Although it's true the two Treasury secretaries highlighted in the piece,
Henry Paulson and Robert Rubin--both from Goldman, Sachs & Co.--have such resumes, not everyone who's held the cabinet position
recently fits that mold. The best example is Harvard economist Lawrence
Summers, Rubin's successor in the Clinton administration. Paul
O'Neill and John Snow, George W. Bush's first two Treasury secretaries,
were both CEOs, but not of banks.
If anything, Rattner has a breadth of
experience that may be useful: experience at major Wall Street
institutions, a founder of a buyout shop, a deep knowledge of the media
business and, of course, a long friendship with New York Times scion
Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger. The question is: What gets lower ratings
these days, a private equity investor or a bank CEO?
So who's to say that if Obama wins he won't tap Rattner? On
the other hand, maybe it's a conversation that should wait until Nov.
5. -- Matthew Wurtzel
See story from Newsweek
