O-Neill and Lindsey Drop Out of Bush Economic Team

Hosted by
Stocks sank this morning with the news of rising unemployment, but leveled off with the announcement that Paul O-Neill and Larry Lindsey are resigning from the Bush administration. Their departure comes only a month after Harvey Pitt stepped down as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Treasury Secretary and White House economic advisor are part of what Fortune Magazine called the -keystone cops of federal finance,- an economic team that-s -tone deaf to Main Street, Wall Street and Capitol Hill.- Is the White House putting its economic house in order or struggling to figure out what to do next? We hear more from CNN political analyst William Schneider, syndicated columnist Matt Miller, political writers James Glassman and Joe Conason, former Presidential advisor Stephen Hess, and the Economist-s Adrian Wooldridge. Newsmaker: Political Chaos in Venezuela In Venezuela, the fifth largest oil producer in the world, the strike continues against leftist President Hugo Chavez. In many cities, banks, shopping centers and markets have closed. Oil prices already have been affected. Next, there could be problems of oil supplies. Freelance journalist Phil Gunson, who is in Caracas, has details on the strike-s object, the push for early elections and the danger to the world-s oil supplies. Reporter's Notebook: Ramadan Takes on a New Look The world of Islam is often treated as a monolith in the Western press, but Muslim countries are increasingly diverse, especially in westernized metropolitan centers. One measure of change is the celebration of Ramadan, which ends tonight. The month-long holiday requires fasting and prayer by day, followed by family oriented dinners. Yet, in Amman, Jordan, the Wall Street Journal-s Lee Gomes found something quite different. This program will not air on KCRW as it will be pre-empted by special holiday programming.
Stocks sank this morning with the news of rising unemployment, but leveled off with the announcement that Paul O-Neill and Larry Lindsey are resigning from the Bush administration. Their departure comes only a month after Harvey Pitt stepped down as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Treasury Secretary and White House economic advisor are part of what Fortune Magazine called the -keystone cops of federal finance,- an economic team that-s -tone deaf to Main Street, Wall Street and Capitol Hill.- Is the White House putting its economic house in order or struggling to figure out what to do next? We hear more from CNN political analyst William Schneider, syndicated columnist Matt Miller, political writers James Glassman and Joe Conason, former Presidential advisor Stephen Hess, and the Economist-s Adrian Wooldridge.
  • Newsmaker: Political Chaos in Venezuela
    In Venezuela, the fifth largest oil producer in the world, the strike continues against leftist President Hugo Chavez. In many cities, banks, shopping centers and markets have closed. Oil prices already have been affected. Next, there could be problems of oil supplies. Freelance journalist Phil Gunson, who is in Caracas, has details on the strike-s object, the push for early elections and the danger to the world-s oil supplies.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Ramadan Takes on a New Look
    The world of Islam is often treated as a monolith in the Western press, but Muslim countries are increasingly diverse, especially in westernized metropolitan centers. One measure of change is the celebration of Ramadan, which ends tonight. The month-long holiday requires fasting and prayer by day, followed by family oriented dinners. Yet, in Amman, Jordan, the Wall Street Journal-s Lee Gomes found something quite different.
This program will not air on KCRW as it will be pre-empted by special holiday programming.

Government of Venezuela (in Spanish)

OPEC

US Treasury Department

Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill

White House National Economic Council

Presidential Economic Advisor Larry Lindsey

Ramadan

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney