tagged w/ US pol
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WASHINGTON - Weeks after winning the White House, President Obama sought to reassure a nation unnerved by a financial meltdown that Paul A. Volcker, the venerable former Federal Reserve chairman, would help the new economic team steer a course through the crisis.
Six months after that announcement, however, Volcker has had sporadic contact with the president, and his role in the administration remains unclear, according to sources with direct knowledge of his thinking. As the economic recovery board he chairs holds its first substantive meeting today, Volcker is unsure what influence the panel ultimately will have, the sources said.
"Anybody in the world doing the creation of policy would be well advised to talk to him," said James D. Wolfensohn, a former World Bank president who is close to Volcker. "I have the impression that part of the purpose of the committee and the appointment of Paul is to make him available for that interchange. What I don't know is how much he's being used."WASHINGTON - Weeks after winning the White House, President Obama sought to reassure a... more
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