Sunday, November 16, 2008

Obama Says Paulson May Be Disappointed by Parts of Rescue Plan

Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson may be disappointed with some aspects of the federal government's $700 billion bailout of the banking industry.

``Hank Paulson has worked tirelessly under some very difficult circumstances,'' Obama said in an hourlong interview to be aired on ``60 Minutes'' tomorrow night, according to excerpts released by CBS News. ``I think Hank would be the first one to acknowledge that probably not everything that's been done has worked the way he had hoped it would work.''

Obama said he has assigned someone on his presidential transition team who ``interacts'' with Paulson daily.

``We are getting the information that's required, and we're making suggestions in some circumstances about how we think they might approach some of these problems,'' Obama said.

Obama also said the government must do more to help distressed homeowners.

``We have not focused on foreclosures and what's happening to homeowners as much as I would like,'' Obama said, according to the excerpts. He called for setting up ``a negotiation between banks and borrowers so that people can stay in their homes.''

CBS also reported that Obama said during the interview that he would name a Republican to his Cabinet.

A number of influential congressional Democrats and the military favor the idea of asking Defense Secretary Robert Gates to remain for an interim period. As the new president focuses on the financial crisis, they argue, this would offer continuity.

``He's done an extraordinary job,'' Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, said of Gates earlier this month. ``I would hope that in some capacity he could continue to serve.''

source: bloomberg

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