Sheila Bair, Brooksley Born: JFK Award Recipients For Predicting Crisis

BOSTON — Two U.S. federal regulators who sounded early warnings on the financial crisis and a Liberian peace activist who helped end that nation's civil war were honored for their efforts Monday at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairwoman Sheila Bair, former chairwoman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Brooksley Born, and peace activist Leymah Gbowee (LAY'-mah BOH'-wee) were presented with Profile in Courage Awards, annual honors named for a 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book written by John F. Kennedy.

"(It's) a special honor to present the award to three women who have inspired all those who seek to bring about change in their political systems," said Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President Kennedy and head of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation that administers the awards.

Bair was one of the first to speak out about the subprime lending crisis, and Born warned a decade ago that unregulated financial contracts, including credit default swaps, could pose dangers to the economy. Gbowee organized a group of Christian and Muslim women to challenge Liberia's warlords.

In accepting her award, Bair said she was proud to join the list of those who have received past Profile in Courage awards. "I'm particularly pleased to be joining two other female awardees who stood up when some of their male counterparts failed to act, or worse, actively fought them," she said.

Gbowee received her award on behalf of the Liberian women who were featured in the "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" documentary about Liberia's civil war.

"For us women of Liberia, this award is a call that we will keep walking until peace, justice and the rights of woman (are) not a dream," Gbowee said, "but a thing of the present."

Comments

[doubtingdavid]

"warned of the subprime crises a decade ago" Well ge,e wasn't that under the last dem contolled white house and congress?

[scottyknows]

Since JFK received his Pulitzer for 'Profiles in Courage,' a book he did not write and hence award he did not deserve, the historical analogy would be that anyone receiving the 'Profiles in Courage' award would be someone who looked and sounded as if they deserved it, but a deeper reading of the facts would find they did not.

I nominate Al Gore for such recognition.

[TJCole]

President Obama should be listening to Bair and Born, over Geithner and Bernanke and Summers...

They created the problem along with their bosses Rubin and Greenspan...

[aaronr2000]

Good. Now all we need is an award for people who actually LISTENS when people like these amazing women speak out on behalf of the rest of us.

[hollybork]

You are so right! You would think they would be needed at Treasury, wouldn't you?

[aaronr2000]

Yep, and as far as I'm concerned they should take Eliot Spitzer with him, sex scandal and all. Wall Street is afraid of this man.

[samlu1]

These ladies are dealing with nothing more than the smoking gun of fabricated and orchestrated lies planned well before Bush Jr. took office. The real estate fraud was the EXACT same one as done by Bush Sr. in the 1980's. The amounts and collusion among decision makers was obviously much greater the second time around. These criminals do learn you know?

Hey ladies....there were no commercial planes on 911. Deal with that next year? Terrorism is based on fabricated and orchestrated lies planned well before Bush Jr. took office. Where have we heard that before?

[jordan3189]

The sun will rise tomorrow. Where's my prize?

[goodneighbor420]

so tell me, why are these WOMEN just getting a little award? why in heavens name aren't they running the show? oh that's right, they're women.....­.........O­bama should HIRE these women!

[JSquercia]

Absolutely Brooksley Born and Elizabeth Warren should have far more input on economic policy than Larry Summers and Robert Rubin for the plain and simple fact that they were RIGHT and the other two clowns were WRONG .Not only was Rubin wrong when advising the government but he did nothing for Citi as far as overseeing the mess they got themselves into .So Rubin was WRONG on two counts

[hollybork]

Exactly right.

[lex811]

born reborn.

[weatherwaxx]

INTUITION?

You condescending fathead!

If a male had received this award, it would be keen analytical intelligence and insight into the workings and malfunctions of the financial system.

But for a woman, it's "intuition."

Bair deserves the award. Your writers deserve a kick in the pants.

[TinaGirlla]

so glad you wrote that, I was insulted & am amazed this headline is still up. What a poor, unenlightened non 21st century choice of words.

[goodneighbor420]

no kidding weatherwaxx! intuition my a$$---that whole attitude is why nobody paid any attention to these women in the first place and why our country is in the mess it's in ****because Nobody Listened to the SMART WOMEN,

I personally think that the next revolution should be the smart women taking over our country's leadership----no beauty queens mind you, I'm talking educated, smart women.

[Chem is she]

I thought the same thing. Thanks for writing this.

[M Saleem Chaudhry]

The depth of vision , capacity for analytical evaluation, and having guts and nerves to call a spade a spade, are not the traits exclusive for any gender ,age or background, any humanbeing can be blessed by these . It's really a good coincedence that all the three awardees happen to be ladies and to top it all award giving personality is also of the same sex,once termed as weaker vessel,in good old times. However this must be very motivating for women in Liberia and even my country Pakistan wherein Male chauvenism rules supreme.

[Rule Of Law]

"Woman's Intuition" ???

WTF? If that isn't the most demeaning headline ever on HuffPO! These are highly qualified, educated, brilliant women who worked twice as hard as the average man to get to where they were--and you suggest for the sake of a cute headline that it was just lucky guess work?

[Chem is she]

agreed

[PhilipTaylor]

It is time for a Women as head of Treasury! Bair, Warren, or Born are all capable!

Geithner/Summers have FAILED applying the same corrupt principles that put us into this CRISIS!

It is time for a Balanced approach with Main Street as the focus to bring Americans on PAR with the Wall Street crowd. Empathy for REAL Americans has been missing for 30 years in Treasury!

[OtayPanky]

I'd be much more sanguine about long term change if Bad News Bair was in charge, rather than Timmy and Larry, who are both prime architects of the mess we're in.

[Renee27]

They definitely deserve it. Congrats to them

Brooksley Born - Oct 1998 (re-post)

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/includes/templates/library/flash_popup.php?pID=114751-1&clipStart=&clipStop=

(She comes in @ 6:16 - 21:45 and 40:19 - 50:24)

[gayleg]

Wouldn't it have been great if someone had actually listened to them BEFORE the collapse?

Even now, we're entrusting the same people who got us into this mess to get us out (Hello, Larry!).

[weatherwaxx]

Nobody listens to women when they point out that the big boys are being stupid.