The title of a recently released CBS Nes article is "Geithner Wants Speedy Action On New Powers; Treasury Secretary Urges Congress To Pass Law Allowing Administration To Seize Troubled Firms". The key words in this title are obviously "speedy" and "urges". The key question is: how fast or 'speedily' can Congress get his proposal passed? Or, more accurately, will this proposal be passed? The administration (specifically Treasury Secreary Geithner) may "urge" Congress, but can he convince them?

According to CBS, "In a speech in New York, Geithner said the country will never again have to choose between a meltdown of the financial sysem and massive taxpayer bailouts". Mr. Treasury Secretary, if the Federal Reserve and/or the federal government need money, whee will they get that money from? Taxpayers. This is the way that the federal government has obtained funds and it will continue to be that way.

Specifically, Geithner said that "One of the key lessons of the current crisis is that destabilizing forces can come from financial institutions beyond banks, but our regulatory system provides few ways to deal with these risks". This was the way it as under Bush. Now, Obama is president. Will this change under Obama's leadership?

Speaking to the House Financial Services Committee last Tuesday, Geithner said "AIG highlights BROAD FAILURES of our financial system. We must ensure that our country NEVER FACES THIS SITUATION AGAIN". Again this is easy to say, but hard to do. Also, Geithner is sounding like Obama on the campaign tail now. On the campaign trail, tough words were often enough. Now the campaign has been over for moe than 4 months. We must now hold all government officials accountable for their words, especially when they use emotionally charged definitive words such as "never".

Finally, of course, Republicans are following Geithner's every move because Geithner is one of Obama's principal officials and as the Republicans are the opposition party, in his case, they are opposing. According to Alabama Republican Sen. Richad Shelby, speaking on The Early Show, "We'll have to wait and see. This looks like a plan similar to what (former Treasury) Secretary (Henry) Paulson originally proposed - the devil is alays in the details. We have to see how this is priced and how this works, because if you price these assets too high, people make a windfall (profit) - probably off the taxpayer. If, (on he other hand), they are priced too low, the banks won't sell them". It seems as if former President Bush never left because Bush was a Republican who had trouble convincing the majority Democrats while Obama is a Democrat who is now having trouble convincing the minority Republicans. The key sentence in this statement is undoubtdly "This is a plan similar to what Secretary Paulson originally proposed". This sounds awfully similar to Obama's repeated references on the campaign trail to Bush's "failed policies over the past 8 years".