-Caveat Lector- Rubin: A Wall Street Man By SALLY BUZBEE .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Robert Rubin spent much of his life speculating what the stock market would do. He was good at it and made $100 million. When he came to Washington, Rubin did essentially the same thing, speculating that if President Clinton would balance the budget, he would be rewarded with a booming economy. To the surprise of many, that argument caught Clinton's ear. And in the six years since, first as a top economic adviser and since 1995 as the Treasury secretary, Rubin has gained much credit -- in a close partnership with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan -- for the policies of spending restraint that kept interest rates low, Wall Street booming and many Americans raking in money. That prosperity, in turn, helped smooth Clinton's presidency. Most Americans wouldn't recognize the slight, silver-haired man in his investment banker pinstripes. But Clinton, many Republicans and especially Wall Street have always given Rubin considerable credit. ``He generally did his best to keep the more liberal elements of the Clinton-Gore administration in check,'' said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. Or, as Clinton put it as he announced Rubin's departure Wednesday, ``Everybody always believed that as long as he was secretary of the Treasury, nothing bad could happen.'' Indeed, for years reporters and Wall Street brokers joked how the market might sink the day Rubin finally left. He had long ``pined for private life,'' Clinton noted. The secretary's wife, Judith, never moved to Washington, and Rubin, 60, stayed in a hotel near the White House, flying home to New York City every weekend. The market did indeed drop more than 200 points on Wednesday morning but quickly recovered, largely perhaps because Greenspan, 73, still has another year as Federal Reserve chairman and may seek another four-year term after that. In addition, Rubin has spent much of the past year grooming his deputy, former Harvard economist Lawrence Summers, sending him to Capitol Hill and around the world when Asia's economy crashed. But it was Rubin's close relationship with Greenspan that mattered most. Rubin set an early and ironclad rule that no one in the Clinton administration could publicly criticize the Fed chairman. As Greenspan and the Fed pursued policies that led to low inflation, even Republicans were pleased. ``Leaving Greenspan alone -- they do get credit for that,'' said GOP presidential hopeful Steve Forbes, who otherwise bitterly criticized Rubin and Summers' handling of the Asian crisis. Republicans did fight with Rubin over the 1997 government shutdown and his handling of the Asian crisis. But most considered him ``a strong and sometimes solitary voice within the Clinton administration for open markets and fiscal discipline,'' said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer, R-Texas. Rubin also frustrated some Democrats, especially early on, when Labor Secretary Robert Reich and others complained the administration too heavily favored business. But Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said Rubin often repaired frayed ties on Capitol Hill when Clinton appeared to bypass Democrats and negotiate directly with the GOP on taxes or welfare reform. ``Thank God during all these times we knew we had someone we could depend on,'' Rangel said. Rubin also pushed often for more private investment in inner city neighborhoods, another position Clinton embraced. Yet that work never gained him the attention that the economy's boom did. It's unclear what he will do when he returns to private life. He is viewed as a possible candidate for the Fed chairmanship if Greenspan should retire. Rubin, who has two grown sons, put his own millions in a blind trust and became a retired partner at Goldman, Sachs during his government years. He entered an arrangement where he could neither profit nor suffer from the firm's performance, Treasury officials say. Last week, Goldman went public, selling millions of shares in an initial public offering that gained $3.66 billion, the second-largest in history. Some senior and retired partners made millions. Rubin, under his arrangement, missed out. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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