AIG Bonuses Flap Has Geithner on Hot Seat

The political firestorm surrounding the $160 million in bonuses paid to AIG (AIG Quote) executives has put Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner squarely on the hot seat once again.

Protesters at a Capitol Hill hearing on the AIG bonuses Wednesday held signs calling for Geithner's dismissal, as criticism mounts that the Treasury secretary should have stopped the controversial payments.

Just weeks into his appointment, Geithner is beginning to look vulnerable to charges that he is incompetent or, at the very least, lacks the gravitas needed from a Treasury secretary in the midst of an economic crisis. And as calls for his ouster begin to emerge from some quarters, President Barack Obama is in a difficult bind. ...