On the BBC’s Today Programme in October, Democrat Congressman Jim McDermott was talking about Hank Paulson and he was being fulsome in his praise. The former head of Goldman Sachs was a man of vast intellect, said McDermott, who undoubtedly knows the capital markets inside out, he was bending every sinew to rectify the credit crisis. The elected politician had just one criticism of the political appointee: Paulson was unbelievably inarticulate.

Paulson has every right to be ranked as one of the most successful investment bankers of the last decade, a fact the Congressman recognised, and he was marvelling that Paulson found it next to impossible to explain in simple language - language that the man on the street would be able to understand - why the credit crisis had occurred, what needed to be done about it and the consequences of not acting properly.