Robert Rubin returns

Politico - Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin - who watched his reputation as an economic titan shattered after leaving the Clinton White House - is decidedly out of favor in the nation's capital.

Except one place - the Obama administration.

Behind the scenes, Rubin still wields enormous influence in Barack Obama's Washington, chatting regularly with a legion of former employees who dominate the ranks of the young administration's policy team. He speaks regularly to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who once worked for Rubin at Treasury.

According to Geithner's public calendar, the Treasury Secretary spoke or met with Rubin at least four times in the first six months of Geithner's tenure. Three of those chats, including an hour-long session in Rubin's New York office, came before President Obama released his Wall Street regulatory reform proposal in June of 2009. Read more.