Jack Lew’s signature: ‘Loopy Lew,’ Obama’s pick for treasury secretary, draws laughs in Washington
Jack Lew, now being called “Loopy Lew” for his distinctive signature, is pictured at a White House press briefing in Washington, DC, on Sept. 19, 2011.
The president's longest-serving economic advisor, who usually goes by the nickname Jack, is now being called "Loopy Lew."
President Barack Obama's pick for his next treasury secretary, Jacob "Jack" Lew, is drawing a lot of press for one very unusual reason: his signature.
It's not that the signature — which Fairfax media describes as resembling "OooooooooO" — makes Lew any less qualified for the job being vacated by Tim Geithner.
It's the idea that it could end up on America's dollar bill that, according to Fairfax, has the US press abuzz.
"I had never noticed Jack’s signature," Obama joked, after he announced Lew's nomination on Thursday, according to BuzzFeed. "When this was highlighted yesterday in the press I considered rescinding my offer to appoint him."
Fox News' warning to concerned US currency holders:
"Jack Lew's loopy signature may end up on dollar bills."
"Jack Lew’s signature might be the world’s worst."
The LA Times' David Lazarus goes one better:
"The guy signs his name like a first-grader scrawling loop-the-loops."
Ouch.
Britain’s Daily Mail, meantime, consulted a graphologist in 2011 on the signature, who declared Lew "doesn’t want us to see a lot about him."
Speculation, however, was that that Lew would likely follow in the footsteps of Geithner, who changed the way he signed his name upon being named as
Geithner told Marketplace at the time:
"Well, I think on the dollar bill I had to write something where people could read my name. That's the rationale."
Obama formally announced the nomination of Lew, presently White House chief of staff, on Thursday.
More from GlobalPost: Jack Lew to be nominated for US Treasury Secretary Thursday: source