Eliot Spitzer just wrote a stellar analysis of the essential problems on Wall Street and how to fix them. Can you think of anyone you'd rather have in charge of crafting the new regulations? I'm afraid Obama will freeze him out because of his lifestyle issues. That would be a shame IMO, but what do you think?
The new president's team must soon get to the root causes of the mistakes that have brought us to the economic precipice. Yes, we have all derided the explosion of leverage, the failure to regulate derivatives, the flood of subprime lending that was bound to default and the excesses of CEO compensation. But these are all mere manifestations of three deeper structural problems that require greater attention: misconceptions about what a "free market" really is, a continuing breakdown in corporate governance and an antiquated and incoherent federal financial regulatory framework.
Read the whole thing. He knows Wall Street but he's not a f-ing banker, ie, a player within the system. He kicks ass and takes names. I suppose he would be a good fit at SEC, but for the kind of change he's talking about, maybe he needs a new position altogether. Maybe he should just construct the plan for reorganizing Wall Street regulation. That is something he could do as part of some advisory board or other. I'll let the bureacrats figure that one out.
This isn't just about Spitzer and the urgent needs of the moment. There's also the question whether the needs of the country for strong leadership should, on occasion, trump the ban on putting people with zipper problems in high places.