Confidence Men - Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President

Product Description The hidden history of Wall Street and the White House comes down to a single, powerful, quintessentially American concept: confidence. Both centers of power, tapping brazen innovations over the past three decades, learned how to manufacture it. Until August 2007, when that confidence finally began to crumble. In this gripping and brilliantly reported book, Ron Suskind tells the story of what happened next, as Wall Street struggled to save itself while a man with little experience and soaring rhetoric emerged from obscurity to usher in “a new era of responsibility.” It is a story that follows the journey of Barack Obama, who rose as the country fell, and offers the first full portrait of his tumultuous presidency. Wall Street found that straying from long-standing principles of transparency, accountability, and fair dealing opened a path to stunning profits. Obama’s determination to reverse that trend was essential to his ascendance, especially when Wall Street collapsed during the fall of an election year and the two candidates could audition for the presidency by responding to a national crisis. But as he stood on the stage in Grant Park, a shudder went through Barack Obama. He would now have to command Washington, tame New York, and rescue the economy in the first real management job of his life. The new president surrounded himself with a team of seasoned players—like Rahm Emanuel, Larry Summers, and Tim Geithner—who had served a different president in a different time. As the nation’s crises deepened, Obama’s deputies often ignored the president’s decisions—“to protect him from himself”—while they fought to seize control of a rudderless White House. Bitter disputes—between men and women, policy and politics—ruled the day. The result was an administration that found itself overtaken by events as, year to year, Obama struggled to grow into the world’s toughest job and, in desperation, take control of his own administration. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Ron Suskind introduces readers to an ensemble cast, from the titans of high finance to a new generation of reformers, from petulant congressmen and acerbic lobbyists to a tight circle of White House advisers—and, ultimately, to the president himself, as you’ve never before seen him. Based on hundreds of interviews and filled with piercing insights and startling disclosures, Confidence Men brings into focus the collusion and conflict between the nation’s two capitals—New York and Washington, one of private gain, the other of public purpose—in defining confidence and, thereby, charting America’s future. About the Author Ron Suskind is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Way of the World, The One Percent Doctrine, The Price of Loyalty, and A Hope in the Unseen. From 1993 to 2000 he was the senior national affairs writer for The Wall Street Journal, where he won a Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Washington, D.C. In this gripping, revelatory, and brilliantly reported book, acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind tells for the first time the full story of America's financial meltdown and an untested new president charged with commanding Washington, taming Wall Street, rescuing an economy on the verge of collapse, and restoring the confidence of a shaken nation. Suskind moves from the frenzied trading floors of lower Manhattan to the power corridors inside the Beltway and introduces a larger than life cast of politicians and advisors, titans of high finance, reformers, lobbyists, and others who faced a crisis unlike anything they had ever imagined. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews and exhaustive research, filled with piercing insight and startling disclosures, Confidence Men goes beyond the headlines and previous accounts, bringing into focus the unprecedented struggle between the nation's two capitals; New York and Washington, one of private gain, the other of public purpose;that continues to divide and roil America. Draws On Hundreds Of Hours Of Interviews And In-depth Research To Relate The Complete Story Of The Nation's Financial Meltdown, From The Trading Floors Of Lower Manhattan To The Power Corridors Inside The Beltway. Pt. 1. The Two Capitals -- September 17, 2010 -- The Warning -- Sonny's Blues -- Inside The Bubble -- The Fall -- The Rise -- The B Team -- Pt. 2. Home Alone -- Stacking The Deck -- Well Managed -- The Covenant -- Stress Tested -- Never Alone -- The Turn -- Respice Finem -- Pt. 3. The Education Of Barack Obama -- Misdemeanors And Felonies -- Mind The Gap -- Business As Usual -- A Tale Of Two Cities -- The Noise -- Symbols And Gestures. Ron Suskind. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [485]-503) And Index. The Hidden History Of Wall Street And The White House Comes Down To A Single, Powerful, Quintessentially American Concept: Confidence. Both Centers Of Power, Tapping Brazen Innovations Over The Past Three Decades, Learned How To Manufacture It. But In August 2007, That Confidence Finally Began To Crumble. In This Gripping And Brilliantly Reported Book, Ron Suskind Tells The Story Of What Happened Next, As Wall Street Struggled To Save Itself While A Man With Little Experience And Soaring Rhetoric Emerged From Obscurity To Usher In A New Era Of Responsibility. It Is A Story That Follows The Journey Of Barack Obama, Who Rose As The Country Fell, Offering The First Full Portrait Of His Tumultuous Presidency. pt. 1. The two capitals September 17, 2010 The warning Sonny's blues Inside the bubble The fall The rise The B-Team pt. 2. Home alone A new deal Well managed The covenant Unresolved-- Nowhere man Filling the void Mad men pt. 3. The education of Barack Obama Lost and found Mind the gap Business as usual God's work The noise The man they elected.