took a break it was a bad moment whether by design or by accident of history than bernanke and tim geithner, still that the new york fed and hank paulson at the treasury let lehman fail and the consequences were dire and almost immediately they were faced with another giant. aig, now it isn't a bank, it isn't even an investment bank it's an insurance company. and what was the fed doing the buying an insurance company. i used to have a fantasy back when i was at the fed if somebody from the staff had walked into my office and said i think we ought to buy a large failing insurance company. [laughter] what what i have said? >> guest: i think there was quite a bit of that at the fed at the time. bear stearns and lehman brothers are second cousins of the bank and they understood the business they were in. they really did not seek aig coming. aig is a terrible illustration of how firms can exploit loopholes in our financial regulation. aig, which is a fascinating history of its own at this point is a series of very strong insurance companies on top of which has been built a casino and the casino

it was a moment when whether by design or by accident ben bernanke, tim geithner of the fed and hank paulson of the treasury let lehman brothers fail and the consequences were buyer and almost immediately they were faced with another giant, joseph aig. aig isn't a bank, it isn't even an investment bank, it is an insurance company, and what was the fed doing bodying in insurance company? how are you still have a fantasy back when i was at the fed if somebody on the staff had walked into my office and said i think we ought to buy a large failing insurance company what what i have said? >> guest: bear stearns and lehman brothers are kind of second cousins and the fed at least understood the business. they really did not see aig coming. aig is a terrible illustration how firms can exploit loopholes in our financial regulation. aig that has a fascinating history of its own at this point is a series of very strong insurance companies on top of which has been built a casino and the casino is where people are betting on the defaults of other companies and it turns out that they've taken a lo

. >> coming up turbo tax cheat tim geithner back in the hot seat.ewly discovered e-mails that could cause the treasury secretary's job. >> video of the official who vowed to drop the "f" word in every board meeting in 2010. that and more straight ahead. [ female announcer ] 1 out of 2 women over 50 will have an osteoporosis related fracture in their lifetime. if you have post-menopausal osteoporosis, are you more likely to break a bone? if you're getting calcium, are you sure it's enough to fight osteoporosis? if you exercise, are you sure that's enough? call 1-800-869-8814 to find out more in this free information kit. in it, you'll see the difference between the inside of a strong bone and the inside of an osteoporotic bone weakened and prone to fracture. you'll find ways to help reverse bone loss and ways to help prevent fractures. call 1-800-869-8814 and learn how to help maintain strong bones and read about a treatment option for post-menopausal osteoporosis. there's even a discussion guide to use when you talk to your doctor. are you calling n

. >> coming up turbo tax cheat tim geithner back in the hot seat.newly discovered e-mails that could cause the treasury secretary's job. >> video of the official who vowed to drop the "f" word in every board meeting in host: could switching to geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance? host: does charlie daniels play a mean fiddle? ♪ fiddle music charlie:hat's how you do it son. vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. . >> sean: tonight in hannity's america you may be surprised to learn that one of the nation's top intelligence officials doesn't know the flight number of the plane targeted on christmas day. in a memo released yesterday the director of national intelligence dennis blair wrote the terrorist boarded northwest airlines flight 153 for detroit but the number was 253. josh reports that blair later corrected the memo not before it was sent to reporters. done you feel safe with this guy and leon panetta both being in charge of the intelligence community? >> tomorrow a not so happy anniversary for christina

. >> tim geithner. >> the leaders of most of our major financial institutions in this country. >> theost overrated is freedom. when faced with economic uncertainty, people don't want freedom. when they can't see their economic future, they want the nanny state. okay the most under rated. >> robert gates, most powerful man in the cabinet. >> eleanor. > nancy pelosi, who held together a caucus and is raising money like crazy, so she can prove all you people wrong. >> sarah palin, she has a lot more cultural power than her critics can see or admit. >> mort. >> dennis >>> most underrated, the intensity of the anger in the u.s. middle class. 78million american baby boomers will wake up to the fact that their net worth is shatters and 15 million americans will realize their jobs are not coming back. we'll be right back with new year's resolutions. when planning for retirement these days, the forecast is full of ifs. if i'm too exposed to downturns. if i'll go through my savings too fast. to help you feel more confident consider putting a portion of your savings in a metlife variable annuity

my other prediction is tim geithner will not be named sexian man alive and eagles win the super bowl and donovan mcnabb will be the most valuable player and he will ask rush limbaugh, "what do you think of me now?" >> we were just talking about 2010. my money prediction is i'm going to be in a movie. "boys on the bus." it comes out in the spring. >> are you going to walk the red carpet? >> i hope so. if you're not on vacation that week so you can fill in for me. >> he didn't ask me to go, you notice. >> it's going to be one way or the other, a lot of people think it's going to be a better year. if you take return of conspicuous consumption and combine it with the year of fun gadgetry. >> that's what we spend it on. >> but higher taxes. >> i think so, too. people with money are going to find ways to start feeling better about things. people who don't have money will be deleveraging. >> and we'll talk about predictions of real estate and the price of gold and oil. >> and we'll turn to a professional next, a true professional to predict the future. these people are never wrong. %% >>>

my other prediction is, tim geithner will not be named sexiest man alive, and the eagles will win thealuable player and ask rush limbaugh what do you think about me now? >> ooh. >> wow. a long-term prediction. >> we were just talking about 2010. my money prediction is i'm going to be in a movie. >> you are. he's in "wall street." >> in the spring. >> excellent. >> i'm excited about it. >> are you going to walk the red carpet? >> if you are not on vacation that week so you can fill in for me. >> what i meant is -- it is going to be one way or the other, there are a lot of people that think it will be a better year. if you take joanne's return of conspicuous consumption so we can end and combine it with the year of fund gadgetry. >> that's what we spend it on. >> spend your money on new gadgets. >> people with money are going to find ways to start feeling better about things and the others will be finding out ways to deleverage their house hold. >> real estate for the price of gold and oil and your stocks throughout the show? we are going to turn to professional next. true professional

i have not seen in a treasury secretary spankeed like tim geithner was today. a democratic congressman from massachusetts took him right to the wood chest. when a president has his treasury secretary badly abused by a member of his own party, this is a president in trouble. the principal difference between him and reagan was that reagan had a clear and coherent program and after a year it was not working. the problem that barack obama has is that he lacks a clear program. they appear to be grasping at straws. everyone is dissatisfied with his ceci. he is trying to fix his social agenda into the the economy. the reality is that things like clean energy, health care reform, they will change the economy but they need the tail wind of a good strong macro economy to get it done. the president talk about that on the campaign trail. in the midwest, he talked about dealing with china. tonight, he have to explain how he will get the job done. >> let me bring it back to some of the politics. i want to refer to what bill clinton said back in 1995 as he lost control of the

. >> bret: the house oversight committee wants some answers from treasury secretary tim geithner about role in the bail-out of aig. it plans to question him about news that key details of the bail-out were surprised by the federal ereserve bank of new york, while geithner was its president. geithner office and the new york fed say he was unaware of the push for secrecy. stocks finish the week on a positive note. the dow was up 11 1/3. the s&p 500 gained 3 1/4. nasdaq finished ahead 1 a17 and change. benchmark crude oil finished higher to settle at $82.75 a barrel. gasoline is selling for average of $2.73, up 8 cents from a week ago and dollar from a year ago. we will tell you the story behind one of sarah palin's most unforgettable campaign lines. and is a healthcare reform compromise possible over the uncompromising issue of abortion? will everyone with constipation please report to gate 17? thank you so much. constipation's uncomfortable enough, so why take a harsh laxative? phillips' caplets work naturally with your colon... for overnight relief without cramps. phillips' caplets. >>

of lender freddie mac at the economic club, and secretary tim geithner testifies on capitol hill aboutresident's decision. at 7:45, art guzetti. at 8:30, kevin carey talking

two high-profile congressmen calling for the treasury secretary tim geithner to testify after a new report federal reserve told aig to withhold information from the public. bloomberg news reports that the new york fed crossed the line out in a filing detailing how aig paid billions in taxpayer money to a wall street bank. geithner, now secretary geithner, was head of the bank at the time. he is already facing very tough questions before congress on the bank bailouts. president obama speaking just a few minutes ago on the economy. but the job front still is very much imperfect. we'll talk to "fox news" sunday anchor chris wallace what the white house says is doing. and he'll probably be mad at me about something which is always fascinating. we'll be right back. host: does charlie daniels play a mean fiddle? ♪ fiddle music charlie:hat's how you do it son. vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. is enjoying it together. and right now, a complete seafood dinner for two is just $29.99 at red lobster. you both get a fresh salad and irresistible cheddar bay biscuits...

and tim geithner could learn a lesson from dubai. dubai is saying why should we bailout dubai world which is effectively a bailout of sophisticated banks. we did the same thing with aig. because or partly because we were under this systemic pressure. >> your limits on borrowing apply just to financial firms would insure depositories? or to the whole economy? and if so, what's the philosophical justification for the interference in the right of contract of a willing lender to loan as much money as he wants to, to a borrower? >> banks. the justification is that your right to lend o'barr on an unlimited basis and/or your ability to hold the entire economy hostage begins. multiplied across the economy borrowing without any room for error just results in nationalization. we saw this in the 30. we saw it again over the past two years. and we can't -- one of the lessons of the modern way of creating credit through securities is you can't protect credit from the excesses of speculation just through the uninsured deposits. we have to have som

reporter: amid rising public anger about the bailouts of financial institutions, treasury secretary tim geithner called before the house government reform and oversight committee to explain the government's 2008 rescue of insurance giant a.i.g.. geithner said there was no choice. >> deciding to support a.i.g. was one of the most difficult choices i have ever been involved in in over 20 years of public service. the steps that were taken were motivated solely by what we believe to be in the public interest. we did not act because a.i.g. asked for help. we did not act to protect individual institutions. we acted because the consequences of a.i.g. failing would have been catastrophic for our economy and for american families and businesses. at the height of the financial crisis, the federal reserve-- working with the treasury-- loaned aig $85 billion. a.i.g., in turn paid more than $60 billion to banks and companies such as goldman sachs. goldman held contracts with the insurance giant to protect against losses worth billions. as the financial crisis worsened, total government aid to a.i.g. swelled

this wasreasury secretary tim geithner on the "newshou last night. >>hat's not what's behind this. i've rd that, i've heard that. but the president askeus to work on th going back several weeks. we've provided the recommendations him two weeks ago. >> woodruff: still, therwas further evidence today of w qukly the political landscape in washington has shifte this time, it involved gwing opposition to confirming ben bernanke to chr the federal reserve board for a seconderm. his cuent term expires at the end of this month. two senate democrats-- rus feingold of wisconsin and barbarboxer of california-- announced theyl oppose bernanke. theyriticized the fed's handling of the financial bailouts. that left the white house issue a statement,aying the presidt still has "a great deal of confidce" in bernanke, anbelieves he'll be confirmed. but wall street so off again today,mid the uncertainty both abouternanke and the president's tougtalk on banks. the dojones industrial average fe nearly 217 points to close below 10,173, the lowest sce la november. the naaq index was down 60 to finish a2,

it is not good for secretary tim geithner who was the head of the new york fed at the time. the top lawyer of the new york fed said that there was not aware, had recused himself because his nomination for treasury secretary was pending at that point. for the fed and ben bernanke, although not directly related, it is part of the ongoing complaint about the lack of transparency surrounding extraordinary actions the federal reserve took during the crisis. the a.i.g. bailout is the most egregious example in the critics mines. host: good morning, will. caller: we appreciate your wonderful work, c-span. the window open to all three branches of the government that c-span provides in transparency -- i think c-span has done a turnaround on this transparency when it comes to what the government and news media is doing. that is not forcing an open-door policy on washington. first of all, the problems we have are simple. you have representation -- the three or four largest states in the country, all of them have representatives -- over 50 up to 100 people -- these people get paid enormo

met with then the new york fed president tim geithner about a.i.g.'cuments detailing a.i.g.'s financial condition and its exposures to other financial institutions. we still do not know what treasury secretary geithner at that time did upon learning about the problems with a.i.g. or whether chairman bernanke knew of a.i.g.'s meeting with the new york fed, at that time mr. geithner. the fact that the fed may have known about the problems with a.i.g. before its collapse raises serious questions here about whether they ignored early warnings and failed to take action before the situation became untenable without massive taxpayer bailouts. madam president, many have said that if chairman bernanke is not reappointed, financial markets will be rattled. the notion seems to be that continuity of leadership will be valued more by markets than the assurance of responsible and accountable leadership at the fed. i believ -- i believe this is shortsighted and wrong. it is more important to find the most competent person available for the job than to simply adhere

caller: i heard tim geithner will also be testifying.t a.i.g. there was a story that he knew more than people thought about the a.i.g. crisis when he was the head of the new york fed. i just hope that congress will follow through with a real financial reform. guest: mr. gardner when not be testifying today. he may testify at one of our public hearings, and i will make note of one of the question that you asked, and i will make sure he gets the chance to answer that question. in reference to the previous caller, this is a serious issue. it is not one that will be resolved or better understood by using a blanket statement of condemnation of any groups of people, whether it is their personal background or their particular current employment. our job is more difficult. we have to look at all the alleged causes of this, assess their validity and significance, and then make a report to the american people. that is what we are going to do, and we will not be driven by any other factors. host: i want to go back to the comment that you made, that

first pass and then the same architects -- architects came to the but obama administration and tim geithneris a protege of those government sacks taxes that are continuing the policies hong -- and now it how many stealth bailouts have been rammed through without congressional authority at all over the holiday weekend for example, the limits on the government aid to fannie mae and freddie mac was completely blown out of the water. where is the transparency? face not been in the middle of the night when no one was paying attention. of course, gmac is now being taken over by the government and it is in these takeovers that are occurring outside of the legislative sphere that is particularly concerning to me. and we essentially have had that transformative agenda take place over the last two years. >> host: arizona please go ahead with your question for michelle malkin. >> caller: happy new year. i am a liberal and a proud of it. it seems more inclusive and you don't have to add the word compassion it -- compassionate to lipper cry would much rather talk about the subjects you are talking about

and you see more -- more parallel critiques of the rahm emanuel's and the tim geithner's and the henryaulson's from places like rolling stone and blogs like mine. things. and, you know, the general consensus among critics on both the left and the right is that the obama financial services, financial quote unquote reform policy has built to make banks that were too big to fail even bigger. and has rewarded the enron style accounting of pain and freddie mac was even more bailout money. and so i think you'll see more of those bedfellow alliances targeting both -- both targeting democrat politicians have enabled it. >> host: michelle malkin, a lot of people we've talked about michelle malkin.com. when people post comments, they are not always nice, is that correct? do you leave is up or take those down? >> guest: if they violate my terms of use policy, which you can see on the website, i do my best to ban commenters who cross my line, crossed the lines of those terms of you. >> host: do you support an open dialogue among people disagree with you? >> guest: there are liberal commentators on

i think the other person they need to look at is tim geithner. we need to you'd i am him. he is aware of what the bonuses are about. he led them get the bonuses, and also, a.i.g., we need to look into that. host: what are your reasons for having mr. bernanke reconfirmed? caller: oh, i think he's got some stability. he's fought through the tough times. and he's hung in there. and i don't care who they get. this guy has got -- he's an intelligent person. he makes things happen. also, i want to talk about the 400-point drop in the last two days. president obama is the person that brought that on. and the reason why, because he's criticizing the banks. the other thing to that, it they're criticizing the banks, and he's received campaign contributions. he got campaign contributions from a.i.g. so does this make sense? what is he trying to do? he's trying to fool the american people that he's trying to do something against the banks. there are several stories about campaign finance law. this is in a supreme court memo, justices turn minor movie case into a blockbuster. it talks

caller: i heard tim geithner will also be testifying.t a.i.g. there was a story that he knew more than people thought about the a.i.g. crisis when he was the head of the new york fed. i just hope that congress will follow through with a real financial reform. guest: mr. gardner when not be testifying today. he may testify at one of our public hearings, and i will make note of one of the question that you asked, and i will make sure he gets the chance to answer that question. in reference to the previous caller, this is a serious issue. it is not one that will be resolved or better understood by using a blanket statement of condemnation of any groups of people, whether it is their personal background or their particular current employment. our job is more difficult. we have to look at all the alleged causes of this, assess their validity and significance, and then make a report to the american people. that is what we are going to do, and we will not be driven by any other factors. host: i want to go back to the comment that you made, that

. >> treasury secretary tim geithner told a congressional palianel that he paid no role in the decision to bail out aig. he was president of the year -- of the new york federal reserve bank. it is part of the day-long hearing on aig. later, you will hear from hank paulson. >>> the committee will come to order. the committee will come to order. good morning. on september the 16 2008 the wall street giant aig faced immediate bankruptcy. aig was saved from collapse when the american people came to the rescue with an $85 billion bailout. less than two moss later, the american taxpayer was again forced to pay the bill when the federal reserve directed aig to hand out billions of dollars to counterparties, that inclupded the biggest names on wall street. in effect the taxpayers were propping up the hollow shells of aig. by stuffing it with money, and the rest of wall street came by and looted the corpse. the circumstances surrounding the payments to the counterparties has created an air of suspicion and distrust among the american people starting with the new york feds. initial refusal to nam

host: on tim geithner, the report that representative beryl issa from california sunday night lashed out at the federal reserve bank of new york by limits -- for lifting the disclosure during the bailout of american international group. it showed the new dark said it aims to limit exposure of tens of million dollars of payments related to derivatives transactions. timothy geithner, who was head of the new york fed at the time has come under scrutiny. one of the most controversial parts of the government bailout effort. the indianapolis, good morning to jeff. caller: i and a stampede a lot of said of the bonuses but what people understand, what happens is a person get a salary and bonus as part of their compensation. all it is, is in a person contract. in order for the federal government to try to do something about this, they will have to break an already negotiated contract that has been negotiated with the employees, and then you get into a constitutional issue of contract law. people can be upset all they want to about these bonuses, but most of them are contract to employees to w

how many people were listening to tim geithner? was it in the newspapers today? i doubt it. i wish you would dwell on that, susan, that everybody who paid the money will get it back. host: what did you think of the speech overall? caller: it was great pitch been answered intelligently, straightforward -- it was great. he entered intelligently, straight forward. i wish obama would talk to the people more like roosevelt did, have the fireside chats. don't try to appease the republicans. host: the president is going to tampa, florida, highlighting the high-speed rail projects and holding a town hall meeting. from the associated press, the number of new claims for unemployment benefits fell less than expected. the labor department says that first-time jobless claims dropped by 8000 to a seasonally adjusted 407,000. analysts had expected a steeper drop to 450,000. the four-week average, which smooths out volatility, rose for the second straight week to 400 to be 6250. the average had fallen for 19 straight weeks before starting to rise. economists closely watch initial claims, wh

a lot of people thought that was unfair, but this is politics and some category that if tim geithnertem voting and go back to the people and ask their state what their vote is, and only allow them what the state voted and this would stop corruption. guest: that's interesting. that would be complicated and wouldn't make being a member of congress fun. i think what the founders of the country would say, having house elections every two years is as good as you will get on that score. your district, the people that you represent have a chance to vote or against you every two years, that's as good chance. host: our guests, david hawkings and linda feldmann. something that the president brought up in the state of the union, don't ask, don't tell. we will see that play out in a hearing on the hill. was it a surprise that he brought this up? guest: before the speech and before the prepared remarks were released we heard that he was going to say this. and i thought, gosh, isn't that a little risky. the whole pre-state of the union mantra was jobs, jobs, and those issues. to me it felt a littl

then he keeps tim geithner in office who was the ceo of goldman sachs. i think that could be part of his downfall. guest: that is a bit beyond our per view. we are in the fact-checking business. host: the first caller mentioned transparency. you touched on the area of promises stalled . let us go through some of those -- guest: we looked for action on that but we could not find any. we are talking about a total of 503 promises. the administration made some calculations that it could only pursue so many things at one time. earlier we talked about some of the promises obama made about gay rights. those are stalled by a political calculation, but by the white house, that they were not going to pursue that in the first year. with 500 promises, you have to figure out which ones you will tackle first. host: they also promised -- what is the difference between a stalled promise and a broken promise? guest: we write something "stalled" up until the point where there cannot be any more action. then we make a determination based on our research, is there the possi

fail, andrew weil sorkin reports that the ceo of aig met with then the new york fed president, tim geithner about aig's problems on at least two occasions prior to september 12, 2008. on one occasion, aig ceo gave mr. geithner at that time documents containing aig's financial condition and his exposures to other financial institutions. we still do not know what treasury secretary geithner at that time did upon learning about the problems with aig or whether chairman bernanke knew about aig's meeting with the new york fed at that time. the fact that the fed may have known about the problems with aig before its collapse raises serious questions here about whether they ignored early warnings and failed to take action on the situation and became unmanageable without tax bailout. madam president, many have said that if chairman bernanke was not reappointed financial markets will remodel. the notion seems to be that continuity of leadership will be valued more by market than the assurance of responsible and accountable leadership of the side here at a buddhist perspective is shortsighted and wron

tim was -- >> let me go on. here's the problem i think a lot of us are having. mr. geithnersaid he was not involved with the counterparty negotiations. you're saying you were not involved. oh, yes, you heard a little bit about it, but on november 6th when they gave $62 billion to all these parties who came in and looted aig, all you guys say you know nothing about it. yet it appears this happened. recently michael mcrathe, told the senate banking committee, he said, you know, if aig had gone in bankruptcy we would have taken care of it. we would have been an orderly disposition. this is what he said. aig's insurance operations and their other companies would have simply -- we would have simply bought up aig's insurance assets allowing a seamless delivery of aig's insurance obligation. so the question is, considering that the state insurance commissions would have likely seized aig's insurance subsidiaries, protected policyholders in an aig bankruptcy, why was it necessary to bail out aig with taxpayers' money based upon the testimony of the director of national association i

enior advisor valerie jarre, jqáary tim geithner, and dr.on jobs and the economy while the mayors are the economy while the mayors are here in town. ti+ t(on wednesday, january 20, firt lady michelle obama will deliver remarks to the u.s. conference on mayors 78th winterç meeting and discuss the launch of a major initiative to address the problem of childhood obesity and the impact that it has on the health of the nation and communities around the country. and with that, mr. feller. >> thanks, robert. two topics, please. on haiti, secretary clinton said states is providing a lot of theçq glue that is keeping peoe communicating and working together as we try toç assert authority, reinstate the government, and begin to do what governments have to do to rebuild" the country. and then the president said "this is one of these moments that calls out for american leadership." is the u.s. government essentially in charge of haiti, at least for the foreseeable future? >> no. obviously you know haiti is governed by a sovereign haitian government. w

also, about aig, and i had two meetings over the course of that weekend at the new york fed with tim geithner, with officials from aig. >> right. in those meetings was there any discussion of asking the counterparties to take less than 100%? >> was there any discussion of what? >> any discussion of the counterparties taking less than 100%? >> i, i sure don't recall any. we were talking about the financial problems that, that aig had, and it was clearly, they clearly had issues with counterparties. >> right. >> they clearly had issues with counterparties because that was the crux of the issue, was a ratings, a potential ratings downgrade which would cause the company to have to post collateral. and so, so that would lead to the -- >> so the obligation to the counterparties was discussed? >> well, obviously, that was the issue -- any institution that's facing failure -- >> sure. >> -- is going to have an issue with paying creditors. >> you know, once that intervention occurred, then really the taxpayers, the u.s. government owned 79.8% of aig more or less, that's correct, isn't it? >> yep. >> t

ruling and so have the lower courts, and but my question to you is, secretary of the treasury, tim geithnerrefuse to pay his taxes for four years and got away with it. and that he didn't even fill out a 1040. would you please comment on that? >> guest: first let me comment on the constitutional arguments. i have to disagree with you. i have read those cases as a lawyer. i have read those cases and i've read them carefully and i guess i have to disagree with you and i think the majority, not the majority but all of the courts and opinions i have read actually up hold the internal revenue code as it is today. that is not to say it can't be vastly improved and that we need tax reform desperately and i am the first person to say that. i cannot comment on a specific taxpayers case. i am bound as an internal revenue service employee to not speak about individual taxpayers take-- cases. it is a criminal offense and i would lose my job if i discussed individual taxpayer casus-- cases. anyone really, in my own organization we work about 270,000 cases a year for taxpayers who have problems, and i am

changing the name plate on the door from hank paulson to tim geithner does not represent a change of economic ol policy. we need to understand what it will take to have actual economic accountability and job growth in the country. we believe in this house, the people's house, we have taken tra dat -- dramatic steps to put working class and middle class people aed of the most powerful among us. but the pain continues. in my district over the last five years we have seen people's utility rates go up 93% by appalachian power and others, we get calls every day. 20% increases in health insurance premiums. bank fees, credit card fee, comcast 2350es, all going through the roof while the working and middle class pay the price. we have taken steps here to stand up and say, someone is going to stand up for main street demand, that accountability and that economic relief that we thought was part of the change. we hope tomorrow night to hear more about your willingness to lead in these areas. but we also must switch this focus to main street because we're in a jobs crisis. we need a war-time-lik

met with then the new york fed president tim geithner about a.i.g.'s problems on at least two occasions prior to september 12, 2008. on one occasion, a.i.g.'s c.e.o. gave mr. geithner at that time documents detailing a.i.g.'s financial condition and its exposures to other financial institutions. we still do not know what treasury secretary geithner at that time did upon learning about the problems with a.i.g. or whether chairman bernanke knew of a.i.g.'s meeting with the new york fed, at that time mr. geithner. the fact that the fed may have known about the problems with a.i.g. before its collapse raises serious questions here about whether they ignored early warnings and failed to take action before the situation became untenable without massive taxpayer bailouts. madam president, many have said that if chairman bernanke is not reappointed, financial markets will be rattled. the notion seems to be that continuity of leadership will be valued more by markets than the assurance of responsible and accountable leadership at the fed. i believ -- i believe

as a result of the announcement by president obama and the financial secretary, tim geithner, about thelevy on wholesale lending, i think the proposals from september are for an international levy. the ones that made or controversial at the time are gaining currency around the world and i think you'll see further moves to get an international agreement to back an international levy to deal with the responsibility the banks go to society which is not met by the current arrangement. all issues -- getting the money back, making sure bonuses are fairly taxed, and removing the risk the expos to society, we are taking action and in most cases, it's similar to what is happening in america. -- removing the risk to banks pose to society. >> with the strategic defense review coming after the election, much of the debate is between services rather than the parties. for the record, how would you characterize differences between labor and conservative on national-security issues? >> on national security, we have made an enormous investment in the future of our security arrangements. we have tripled

host: on tim geithner, the report that representative beryl issa from california sunday night lashedt at the federal reserve bank of new york by limits -- for lifting the disclosure during the bailout of american international group. it showed the new dark said it aims to limit exposure of tens of million dollars of payments related to derivatives transactions. timothy geithner, who was head of the new york fed at the time has come under scrutiny. one of the most controversial parts of the government bailout effort. the indianapolis, good morning to jeff. caller: i and a stampede a lot of said of the bonuses but what people understand, what happens is a person get a salary and bonus as part of their compensation. all it is, is in a person contract. in order for the federal government to try to do something about this, they will have to break an already negotiated contract that has been negotiated with the employees, and then you get into a constitutional issue of contract law. people can be upset all they want to about these bonuses, but most of them are contract to employees to work

geithner. the have subpoenaed the federal reserve bank of new york. the government stepped in to rescue aig. >>> it is tim kaine's last speech as the virginia governor. he noted for jinnah landed five corporate headquarters during the worst economic slide in 70 years. he said no state can recommend. economic edge with a jammed highways. >> i believe the biggest challenge is the decades old gridlock. >> he called for more investments in higher education. his successor will be sworn in this saturday. >>> 5:16. your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes. we continue to fall this breakingtory in bethesda. >> we have a huge truck fire that is raging. >> you are looking live at montrose road over 270. this truckhas been burning for over 30 minutes. it caught on fire. authorities have not been able to get close enough to determine the contents. the belief it to be a tanker carrying a highly flammable liquid. 270 northbound is closed, according to callers. southbound 270, only the local lanes for now are closed between falls road and the beltway. they may have to close all lanes until they get things unde