On the Brink (57 page)

December 2006: Meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing with Chinese president Hu Jintao (second from right) and vice premier Wu Yi (far right), my first counterpart for the Strategic Economic Dialogue, and U.S. ambassador Clark Randt, Jr. (far left).
Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

With senior adviser Steve Shafran.
Chris Taylor, Treasury Department

Meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Board in the large conference room at Treasury.
Chris Taylor, Treasury Department

January 25, 2008: Negotiating the economic stimulus package with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader John Boehner, late into the night at the Capitol.
Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times/Redux

April 3, 2008: Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee about Bear Stearns. Left to right: Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, SEC commissioner Chris Cox, Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance Bob Steel, and New York Fed president Tim Geithner.
Susan Walsh/Associated Press

June 8, 2008: Chinese vice premier Wang Qishan, my second Strategic Economic Dialogue counterpart, and me signing the 10-Year Framework on Energy and the Environment at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Left to right, standing: Carlos Gutierrez, secretary of Commerce; Elaine Chao, secretary of Labor; Taiya Smith, my deputy chief of staff; and Mike Leavitt, secretary of Health and Human Services. Chris Taylor, Treasury Department

September 7, 2008: Federal Housing Finance Agency director Jim Lockhart and me signing the $100 billion keepwell agreement for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, effectively guaranteeing the debt of both agencies after placing them into conservatorship. With Treasury’s Dan Jester.
Courtesy of Dan Jester

September 18, 2008, 9:30 a.m.: Some of the Treasury participants on a conference call with me and the Fed and the SEC. Left to right, standing: Jim Wilkinson, Michele Davis, Neel Kashkari, Bob Hoyt, and Kevin Fromer.
Chris Taylor, Treasury Department

Discussing the TARP capital program with (left to right) Treasury’s Dan Jester, Jeremiah Norton, and David Nason.
Chris Taylor, Treasury Department

September 18, 2008, 7:00 p.m.: Meeting in Nancy Pelosi’s office to request TARP authority. Left to right: Rep. Barney Frank, Ben Bernanke, me, Chris Cox, Sen. Chris Dodd, Sen. Richard Shelby, Rep. Spencer Bachus, Sen. Jon Kyl, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
Molly Riley/Reuters

September 23, 2008: Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee seeking TARP authority. Left to right: Me, Ben Bernanke, Chris Cox, and Jim Lockhart.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

September 25, 2008, 3:40 p.m.: Pre-meeting with Republican leadership before meeting with presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain and congressional leaders of both parties. Sitting, left to right: President Bush, SenateMinority LeaderMitchMcConnell, me, Kevin Fromer, Keith Hennessey, Ed Lazear, Joel Kaplan, Ed Gillespie, Dana Perino, Josh Bolten, Dan Meyer, John Boehner, and Vice President Dick Cheney. Standing, left to right: Barry Jackson and a White House staffer.
Eric Draper, Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library