Have any of you that watch the credit markets and banking system ever seen the chairman of the FDIC getting so much attention and air time? You probably can name Sheila C. Bair, the current head of the FDIC. Can you name any of the preceding 18 chairmen since the FDIC was established after the Great Depression? How about more recent history? Maybe you know Bill Seidman but I suspect that has more to do with his role as one of the financially-sound and non-cheerleading contributors to CNBC than it has to do with his tenure as FDIC chairman during the S&L Crisis. But in reverse order between Bair and Seidman - do you know anything about Martin J. Gruenberg, Donald E. Powell, Donna A. Tanoue, Andrew C. Hove Jr., Ricki R. Tigert, or William Taylor. What policy initiatives did they propose? You might wonder what Powell was doing during his tenure when the mortgage mess was being created. Sheila Bair is offering up her opinions on quite a bit of the credit crisis and even a few bailout plans from time to time. I am not quite sure what to make of that. On one hand, I respect Ms. Bair’s intelligence and her desire to help fix the problems. On the other hand, I start to think heavily about why she is so outspoken and how this all relates to the role of the FDIC. I’ve been criticized for suggesting that small banks would eventually fail and would be allowed to fail by the politicians and regulators. Yet, Chairmen Bernanke and Bair have said to expect bank failures. Maybe that might be a clue why she is so busy. Ms. Bair and the FDIC are there to make sure that depositors have trust in the liquidity and solvency of the banks they have entrusted with their savings. If there was no risk for bank failures or runs, do you think you would know who Sheila C. Bair is?