Why Bush's quiet role in the financial crisis deserves attention now
Greg Ip
20 hrs ago The day after Lehman Brothers failed, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke went to President George W. Bush with bad news. Insurer American International Group Inc. needed $85 billion or it, too, would collapse.
Though unhappy and frustrated, Mr. Bush approved the loan, saying, “If we suffer political damage, so be it,†Mr. Paulson later wrote.
Scholars of the crisis rightly focus on the decisions that the three crisis managers—Mr. Paulson, Mr. Bernanke and New York Fed President Tim Geithner—made to rescue the financial system. Though unpopular at the time and still second-guessed, their actions were vital in avoiding a second Great Depression. Yet most would have been impossible without the president’s support, which Mr. Bush gave unreservedly from start to finish.
Mr. Bush’s unsung role merits greater appreciation today. Ten years after the crisis, the financial system is stronger, but the political system is far more fragile. Polarization, populism and protectionism mean the next crisis will be met with far less political will than the last.
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http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/why-bushs-quiet-role-in-the-financial-crisis-deserves-attention-now/ar-BBNewQj?ocid=ientp
