Elizabeth Warren Now

– Why is Obama hesitating on nominating Elizabeth Warren to head the  new consumer agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, that banks and the GOP fought to kill? –

By Paul Krugman

I have to say, I don’t get the administration waffling on Elizabeth Warren at all.

Leave aside the merits of appointing Warren, which are considerable, and think about the politics. At this point, not appointing Warren would be seen by the base as a slap in the face, and would seriously dampen enthusiasm going into the midterms. And Democrats need every bit of enthusiasm they can muster to avoid a Republican takeover of the House.

Given that, it’s crazy to vacillate. Maybe Tim Geithner doesn’t like Warren. Maybe Rahm Emanuel finds her hard to deal with. (I’m speculating here, not speaking from any inside knowledge.) How can such things count compared with the catastrophic effect of a GOP victory on the White House?

Maybe they don’t understand what will happen if John Boehner becomes speaker. Maybe they don’t realize that they’ll face total obstructionism and quite possibly a government shutdown; maybe they don’t realize that there will be investigations and fake scandals over everything in sight, that Andrew Breitbart will become the de facto GOP whip.

But if they don’t realize that, they’re idiots. And I say that with all due respect.