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WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin came back to Washington on Tuesday to a chorus of praise for his financial acumen as well as some gentle teasing about his spectacular ignorance of American popular culture.
The Wall Street banker, widely credited with the strategy that has led to the longest U.S. economic expansion in history, record budget surpluses and a booming stock market, returned to the U.S. Treasury Department to see his portrait unveiled.
Showered with compliments from President Bill Clinton on down, Rubin also took a lot of ribbing for his ignorance about contemporary television shows, films and music.
Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers joked that seven years ago talk of huge U.S. budget surpluses would have seemed like something out of The X-Files" television thriller about two FBI agents who investigate UFO sightings, telepaths and mutants.
"It occurred to me that there was almost no chance that Bob Rubin would have any idea what 'The X-Files' were," Summers added, prompting a roar of laughter from the officials gathered at the Treasury Department to see the portrait of a somber Rubin standing looking downward with his hands in his pockets.
"I thought it was kind of cruel the way that Larry was making fun of Bob not knowing about 'The X-Files," Clinton chimed in. "The X-Files! Bob Rubin didn't know who B.B. King was. He thought he made air guns."
"He thought Jimmy Buffett was a caterer," the president added. The president was referring to B.B. King, the legendary blues musician, and to singer Jimmy Buffett, best know for his beach bum's ballad "Margaritaville."
Rubin, whose quarter century career on Wall Street brought him to the top of investment bank Goldman Sachs and Co but left little time for popular culture, sought to bring Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to his defense.
"I remember, Mr. President, when you used to tease me, outrageously I thought, about not knowing all the picky minutiae of popular culture," said Rubin.
"He used to ask me trick questions and he suggested one of them a moment ago: Who was Jimmy Buffett? Any normal person would say Warren Buffett's son," Rubin added, referring to the Omaha, Nebraska billionaire investor. "I asked Alan Greenspan. And Alan said, it must be Warren's son."
The president also praised Summers, who took over from Rubin last July, and teased both men about their strict advice that he never comment on the financial markets.
"Secretary Summers, you pulled that off without a hitch," Clinton told Summers, who opened the ceremony. "If that won't keep interest rates down, I don't know what will," he added, prompting laughter and surprise from Rubin and Summers.
"In seven and a half years, that's the first public comment I ever made ... and I only did it to see which one of them would faint first," Clinton said.
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Tuesday, 27 June 2000 18:17:36 RTRS [nN2770502]
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