Robert Rubin: The 'Teflon Don' of Wall Street

Robert Rubin was widely feted for America's impressive economic expansion during the Clinton years. But did the former US Treasury Secretary sow the seeds of the financial crisis?

When Robert Rubin left the US Treasury in 1999, he achieved the rare distinction of being almost universally garlanded with praise. "Bob has been acclaimed as the most effective Treasury Secretary since Alexander Hamilton," observed President Clinton at the time. "And I believe that acclaim is well deserved."

Acolytes lined up to hail the former Goldman Sachs trader for presiding over the largest post-war expansion in American history. President Obama's economics team, notes The New York Times, was almost entirely comprised of "Rubinomics" disciples.

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