Tony Blair, Bill Frist Floated As Possible Wolfowitz Replacements At World Bank
Tony Blair, Bill Frist Floated As Possible Wolfowitz Replacements At World Bank
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz announced his resignation yesterday, effective June 30. Not only was his tenure plagued by ethical improprieties, but Wolfowitz, one of the original architects of the Iraq war, also installed ineffective administration allies who were proponents of invading Iraq. He also attempted to undermine the bank’s work on family planning and climate change.
The bank “needs to rebuild its credibility immediately, regain its focus and devote its full attention to its clients,” said the bank’s staff association. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that President Bush “will have a candidate to announce soon, allowing for an orderly transition that will have the World Bank refocused on its mission.”
But a couple of the names being floated indicate that the administration has not learned its lessons from the Wolfowitz scandal, and plans to install a loyalist who will promote the administration’s agenda over sound bank policies:
Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair: Bush yesterday called Blair a “courageous man” and said that he “enjoyed working with Tony Blair more than I could have possibly imagined.” Nobel prize-winner Joe Stiglitz, a former senior vice president at the World Bank, said, “He is one of the people that is clearly being discussed.’” Blair has been Bush’s strongest international ally and pushed the invasion of Iraq.
Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN): Frist presided over one of the most ineffective Senate sessions in history, part of the Do-Nothing 109th Congress. In December, USA Today blasted his Senate of “lowering the achievement bar” and failing at “its most basic job: approving all 11 annual spending bills that keep the government’s lights on.” Frist also falsely claimed in 2004 that HIV can be spread through tears and sweat.
AP also has a few other names that are under consideration, including Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), former Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
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69 Responses to “Tony Blair, Bill Frist Floated As Possible Wolfowitz Replacements At World Bank”
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Bush, just appoint Barney and be done with it. You know you want to.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:33 amFrist? The man that diagnosed Shivo from video?
Ah yes ideological hacks have such a (”heck of a”) great track record in this administration.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:35 amWe can speculate all we want, the main requirement is that the person be a lap dog of cheney/rove.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:36 amsame names… same bull shit over and over
May 18th, 2007 at 10:39 amMy guess is that the Bush administration will get the last say on this and appoint Riza to head the World Bank.
This way the Wolfkowitz household gets to reatin the major portion of its income.
Later, Riza can write hewr best seller. Suggestions as to the title of that book might be useful.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:39 amBush should appoint Mahmoud Ahmadineajad.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:40 amAs a Leftist I admire the Iranian regime.
They’re the most Progressive regime on this planet.
They have more freedoms than us.
That’s why millions of people Immigrate to Iran.
It’s a shining light unto humanity.
GDumbya is waiting for Gonzo to resign under duress so he can install him at the World Bank.
He’s gotta keep moving the deck chairs around on the U.S.S. Titanic or his “legacy” will start catching up with him.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:44 amTony Blair??? Good gawd, the man may be facing charges as a war criminal. Personally, I think Blair is a spent force and probably will go into hiding somewhere –Spain?
May 18th, 2007 at 10:45 amOk I’m starting the Draft Stiglitz campaign. My campaign slogan - “This Time, Why Not an Economist?”
May 18th, 2007 at 10:45 amOMG! I am about to get sick… Bill “insider trader” Frist????
May 18th, 2007 at 10:47 amChimpy should appoint Ralph in here.
He’s obviously a good Bushie and would be unqualified for the job.
The perfect Chimpy pick!
May 18th, 2007 at 10:48 amHere’s a crazy idea…how about appointing someone with actual banking experience to run the World Bank.
Naaah. Makes too much sense. Chimpy would never go for it.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:49 amYou called it Jay.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:50 amI’m a neocon nazi and have no idea what I’m talking about. I get my orders from Karl Rove every hour and he tell me which progressive thread to disrupt.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:50 am#9 — toasterhead
“This Time, Why Not Someone With a Soul?”
May 18th, 2007 at 10:51 amTP loves the one world government agenda!
New World Order!
TP, supports The New World Order!
Merge all nations under the rule of one government! Usher it in will Blair and Clinton and all of the Fabian Socialists!
May 18th, 2007 at 10:55 amAnd don’t forget that Frist also had some nasty troubles in the Senate over his lack of financial disclosures. Just the kind of guy you want running the World Bank…
May 18th, 2007 at 10:57 amSo Bush wants Mr. Insider Trading to head the World Bank. Now what kind of message does that send?
May 18th, 2007 at 10:59 amDoesn’t Harriet Meirs have some time on her hands these days?
May 18th, 2007 at 11:02 amIt’s surprising that Bush is considering cronies why? Perhaps we should be happy Armstrong Williams or Jeff Gannon/Jim Gukert isn’t on the short list.
Michael Brown might’ve made the cut if he had been a good soldier and kept his mouth shut.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:03 amOf the names released, it looks like Zoellick would be the most fitting replacement.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:03 amyou know it just has to go from bad to worse.
last night ko joked about gonzo being named new head, and richard wolfe countered that blair was looking for a job. they were joking. now here it is all over the nets today.
hate to say it but the poodle would probably be a better choice than anyone they’ll put in from this side of the pond.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:03 amThe World Bank Board has been saying that the US should not be appointing the president of the bank. Maybe we need a European guy in there. Somebody who isn’t a Chimpy crony.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:04 amFrist - great. One incompetent s**thead for another. How about that pigf**ker Norquist? Or maybe “Hottub” Delay? Hell, just about ignorant or incompetent redneck will do. Why not go down to the quicky-mart and shoulder tap the next guy tht walks out with a 12 pack of PBR? Bush could rest assured that he would continue the Administration’s lengthy record of total incompetence, nepotism, cronyism, and corruption.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:06 amWait–whatever happened to the investigation into Frist’s insider trading? Was it dropped? Was it squashed?
May 18th, 2007 at 11:07 amPopularity rating at 29%. Sure, put Blair in. Looks like his countrymen and women have a lot of confidence in him. This unfortunately seems to be a qualification Bush looks at very seriously. Just how incompetent and disliked are you. Blair flip-flopped on the issues more than a fish out of water. First, kissing up to Clinton, then suddenly he was up Bush’s arse. So , who is he really?http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1663017.ece
Frist? Well, he doesn’t deserve comment or recognition as a viable option. Which more than likely puts him at the top of Bush’s list of candidates. I suppose in the long run this might be a good option since it would keep him out of the presidential race.
One thing we can be assured of is the post will be filled by some incompetent boob. All one has to do is look at all the other Bush appointees.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:07 am“This Time, Why Not Someone With a Soul?â€
Comment by Zooey — May 18, 2007 @ 10:51 am
Oooo, well that leaves out economists, then…
May 18th, 2007 at 11:09 amLooks just like the 9/11 Commission : filled with conflict of interest appointees.
Nothing this Crooked Amin. does anymore surprises me. I thought (as I bet a lot of people) feel like they saw the worst with Nixon.
Nobody could’ve predicted that this. It seems like every day someone is resigning, under fire or something
This is One Infected Administration. Oozing with Cronyism, Nepotism, Corruption and NeoCON Evilness.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:09 amOooo, well that leaves out economists, then…
Comment by toasterhead
It should be quite an interesting search to find the proper person to head the World Bank — but it won’t be.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:10 am#26 - Ouch! This dismal scientist is hurt!!!
Btw Wolfensohn, who preceded Wofie, was an economist and turned out to be a decent WB President.
Personally, I’d petition for Mohamed Yunus (Grameen Bank and Nobel Prize winner last year). Anyone second that?
May 18th, 2007 at 11:13 amLater, Riza can write hewr best seller. Suggestions as to the title of that book might be useful.
Comment by Joe Canepa
_______________________
“Sleeping with the sheep in Wolf clothing” subtitled “Profiting with Bush”.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:16 amFrist? I thought he was in a persistent vegetative state.
Frist would probably add videotape diagnosis of the ills of the world’s poor to the charter of the World Bank president.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:18 am# 18 Doesn’t Harriet Meirs have some time on her hands these days?
Comment by ann — May 18, 2007 @ 11:02 am
Nah, Ms Meirs is waiting for the call that will come when Gonzo bites it.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:19 am#26 - Ouch! This dismal scientist is hurt!!!
Btw Wolfensohn, who preceded Wofie, was an economist and turned out to be a decent WB President.
Personally, I’d petition for Mohamed Yunus (Grameen Bank and Nobel Prize winner last year). Anyone second that?
Comment by Dumb_Fox — May 18, 2007 @ 11:13 am
Hehe - just kidding… :)
I know there are a few good economists out there, and Mohammed Yunus is definitely one of my favorites. Seconded! I’d also support Amartya Sen. That guy’s awesome.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:20 amNothing this Crooked Amin. does anymore surprises me. I thought (as I bet a lot of people) feel like they saw the worst with Nixon.
Comment by Kay
____________________
The Bush administration is the Nixon administration on growth hormones - many of Nixon’s young underlings are now the old guard in power and advancing the same ideology and with the same lack of ethics.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:20 amI think they should appoint Sandy Berger.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:34 amI knew you were kidding… hey, Amrtya Sen is a very, very good call… I’d probably still break for Yunus, but either would be a great choice.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:36 amI’m surprised he isn’t appointing Tom Delay.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:41 amI knew you were kidding… hey, Amrtya Sen is a very, very good call… I’d probably still break for Yunus, but either would be a great choice.
Comment by Dumb_Fox — May 18, 2007 @ 11:36 am
I doubt either one would take the job, but it’d certainly be interesting. Especially Yunus. I wonder if the microfinance concept could be scaled-up to the country level.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:49 amI have no doubt whatsoever that Dumbya will deliberately pick the most incompetent, inappropriate, and ideologically correct croney he can find for the job. Perhaps Gonzalez will resign so he can take over the World Bank, and Wolfie can be the new Attorny General.
Tom DeLay? Brownie? Fortunately, the “Duke-stir” is in prison and Jim Ney is on his way, so they can’t take the job. Same w/ Abramoff.
Ooooh! I know. John Colton!!!!
May 18th, 2007 at 11:51 amReplacing one neocon a**hole with another. Brilliant.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:51 amhow about someone who is 1) untainted and free of scandal and 2) who is qualified for the position…
you know, like John Bolton… lol
“If you got rid of the top 10 floors of the World Bank it would not make a bit of difference!”
May 18th, 2007 at 11:52 amFrist is a medical doctor…I can understand appointing him to something has to do with health…But World Bank leader…?!!
May 18th, 2007 at 11:52 amThe World Bank Board should move as quickly as possible to protect their institution from any further “appointments” by George Bush. There has to be some legal maneuver they can make to keep him from having any further ability to use the Bank to meet his monthly cronyism quotas.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:59 amWhere do they get these lists of prospective nominees?
If anyone seriously thinks Bill Frist is a credible candidate to restore the lost respect of the World Bank, they are clinically delusional. This is a man who has been investigated for financial improprieties while serving as leader of a thoroughly inept congressional caucus. He has also been tied to Jack Abramoff. And of course, the Schiavo fiasco.
How exactly is this walking ethics disaster going to rehabilitate the Banks’s image?
May 18th, 2007 at 12:13 pmI think you floated this rumor about ex-Senator Frist, and soon to leave office Blair (one of whom might be nominated for World Bank presidency, for no other reason than that you knew that all the kooks would come crawling out of the woodworks and hurry up to supply you with their kinky comments. Hey, that’s good entertainments. Right on, lefties!
Sign me: Sceptical
May 18th, 2007 at 12:21 pmJust a point about process here. Why is it that the U.S. gets to pick the head of the ‘World’ Bank? Has it been acknowledged that the World Bank does nothing but implement policies that screw smaller nations for the benefit of the U.S.? If so, then it definitely should be ours to run.
Seriously, does anyone know why this is Bush’s decision? Sorry if this is a dumb question. Unlike our trolls, I will admit when I don’t know something. :)
May 18th, 2007 at 12:38 pmI love Richard Lugar for the job. I’ve met him a couple of times and he seems like a stand-up guy. And since Indiana flipped from R to D in the last election, house-wise, maybe the climate is right to have another D senator (Gov. Daniels is R, but the replacement would have to stand election in 2008 I think).
May 18th, 2007 at 12:42 pmWhat about Douglas Feith? He can pick up right where Wolfie left off. I seem to recall that he is looking for a cushy posting.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:43 pmHow frightening is this? Tony Blair actually looks pretty good compared to the alternatives.
And Vinnie, the US gets to pick the head of the World Bank because We Rule The World. Didn’t you catch Cheney’s pronouncement? (Actually, apparently it’s just become a tradition, probably from nostalgia for when we could offer something to world affairs besides the current violence, bombast, and corruption.)
May 18th, 2007 at 12:50 pmNo wait, scratch that Feith nomination…we need to internationalize this… perhaps Chalabi?
May 18th, 2007 at 12:50 pmJust a point about process here. Why is it that the U.S. gets to pick the head of the ‘World’ Bank? Has it been acknowledged that the World Bank does nothing but implement policies that screw smaller nations for the benefit of the U.S.? If so, then it definitely should be ours to run.
The US nominates the head of the world bank, and the Euros the head of the IMF. The US is the largest Shareholder of the world bank.
I suggest McNamara; he’s still alive.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:51 pmsame old crap. same old republican hooliganery. los bastardos
May 18th, 2007 at 1:02 pmIt will be Blair. Blair is part of the Bush crime family and has taken one for the team, so he will be rewarded handsomely.
Frist is a big screwup, and made things worse for the White House, not better. Remember the proposal to help us all with higher gas prices? Frist wanted to mail each of us a check for $100.00.
The loser didn’t realize that the $100.00, though pitifully inadequate, was our money to begin with. We actually paid our taxes, Mr. Hospital Corporation of America, I kill kittens because I can, Frist!
May 18th, 2007 at 1:18 pmTony Blair would be an interesting pick - since the establishment of the World Bank and the IMF at Bretton Woods there’s been an understanding (I don’t think it’s written in stone, but I could be wrong) between America and Europe that the world bank is headed by a yank whilst the head of the IMF is a yurpean. All previous heads of the World Bank have been US citizen so unless Blair is thinking about going for US citizenship, then it would be a pretty major departure from 60 years of convention.
That said, we all know how the US government feels about having international law applied to its own citizens, so it might be killing two birds with one stone for Blair - he gets an exciting new job and he gets off any possible future war crimes rap, and all he has to do is swear allegiance to the stars and stripes, etc. etc.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:25 pm#46 - Tradition.
Europe appoints the IMF head honcho, America the WB.
Just an unwritten agreement reached at Bretton Woods.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:29 pmI think he should appoint Browinee. He would do a heck of a job.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:36 pmHere’s an idea. I know it sounds crazy, but bear with me.
How about appointing someone with some…what’s the word…CREDIBILITY??!!
May 18th, 2007 at 1:36 pmWhy can’t interested candidates apply for the job, and then the participating countries could then vote on who would get the job based on qualifications?
May 18th, 2007 at 1:48 pmWhy any of you think that the World Bank has anything to do with banking is beyond me…
look up what it really does.. and why.. banking experience not relevant..
May 18th, 2007 at 2:10 pmHere’s an interesting idea… instead of continuing to appoint the czar of a failing operation, why not just get rid of it? We could sell out our shares to some country awash in cash like China or Japan and let them get stuck with all the bad debt and wacky politics.
May 18th, 2007 at 2:40 pmCirculating rumors without substance is a disservice to the Internet.
May 18th, 2007 at 4:25 pmYou can bet your bottom dollar that neither Blair nor Frist will be proposed for the job.
How about Jeffrey Sachs? He is an expert in development. Oh right, I forget. The guy is actually competent, he does not stand a chance.
May 18th, 2007 at 7:06 pmMuhammad Yunus !!!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunus)
May 18th, 2007 at 7:30 pmBono…
…for WB President!
May 18th, 2007 at 8:22 pmCouldn´t you consider my nomination ?. I have a college Ph D ( In History ) so I couldn´t make much harm, I´m a retired college Prof, I live in a 3rd W country which is no longer a member of the IMF, something which might prove good publicity with the world that doesn´t count, but that well spinned might believe.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:43 pmAnd above all I need the money !
Put Henry Paulson There Who Has Banking Experience Instead Of Novice.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:30 pmHow Agout Bill Cinton. He already knows how get a woman a great promontion. And,if he is too busy running the bank, he won’t be able to helpHillary become president? Nothing stranger printed that I have not seen already. Besides Bill and George W and close.
May 19th, 2007 at 6:01 amThe free and progressive counrtries appear to beChina , Russia and Iran. The countries fostering war, taking away individual freedoms, doing egregious things to it’s people socially,and perpetrating acts of aggression against other sovereign state are? You guess it right. Communist US. The table has turned considerably and many don’t even notice that it is happening.
May 19th, 2007 at 10:35 am