(The UK’s Financial Times posted the following article on its website on May 29.)
LONDON — John Snow has been under great scrutiny from pundits and traders since becoming Treasury secretary in February but even this did not prepare him for the grilling he faced by the average Americans who were affected by George W. Bush’s $350bn tax cut.
In a chatroom called Ask the White House, Snow fielded questions that tested the breadth of his knowledge.
After two questions about the tax cut, he was asked: “How big is your office?” “It is a bigger office than I ever thought I would have,” the former head of railroad company CSX said, before estimating “30 feet by 20 feet with very high ceilings”.
This was followed several questions later by someone asking whether he knew the White House address. He did: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, which happens to be next door to the Treasury Department.
But the best was saved for last: “If you could put your image on a form of currency, which would you put it on?”
Snow, a millionaire like many others in the Bush administration, said: “I would put it on the $500 bill. It has the least circulation. That way I wouldn’t have to see myself too often.” The bill’s circulation certainly is low – it hasn’t been issued since 1969.