Last week Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner fought back against his critics, winning the plaudits of some in the media (though others continue to heap criticism on him). Now, it's James Lambright's turn in the spotlight thanks to a glowing profile of Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program cop in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal.
Without ever talking to Lambright (pictured) on the record, the Journal manages to reveal some rather personal details of his life such as a penchant for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and protein bars. We also learn that when he was a Stanford University undergrad, he made money delivering beer. It gets better: He's also an amateur boxer who participated in a New England Golden Gloves tournament when he was a Harvard Law student. What's the point of all the detail? It not only humanizes a relatively faceless (and until now obscure, if hardly powerless) bureaucrat, but it creates an image of swaggering everyman that Joe Sixpack might like.
Meanwhile, the story is a little light on other details of his resume. Aside from his time as President Bush's appointee to the Export-Import Bank, the only other example of his experience is a terse reference to his time at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette where he worked on real estate and private equity deals.
Instead, the story gets back to establishing Lambright as a character that masses of angry populists might like. After all, what's not to like about this tough-as-nails boxer who lugged kegs around for a living? The story particularly emphasizes his hard-nosed negotiation style, which directly confronts the image of Treasury as caving to the bankers. In fact, the story's headline "Bailout Man Turns the Screws" wreaks of virile imagery.
So where did this story come from? Well, we can't say with any certainty, but it is interesting that New York magazine recently wrote about Democratic media manager Michael Sheehan, who's job seems to be to give Treasury, starting with Geithner, a makeover. If so, he's had a good week or so. - Matthew Wurtzel
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