Is Sheila Bair a Hypocrite?

Sheila Bair, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s chairman from 2006 to 2011, has been hired for a new gig as a board member at the Spanish lender Banco Santander SA. This seems to have gotten some people upset, even riled.

Ben White, Politico's resident distributor of banking-industry talking points, has a post today saying that "the move angered many in the banking world who have found themselves targeted for criticism by Bair over similar alleged conflicts of interest." Really, though, "angered" probably was the wrong word. More likely, the people in the banking world who whispered in White's ear were delighted, tickled, giggling like toddlers and generally overflowing with joy at the news that Bair would be joining a big bank's board. Now it would be a breeze to paint her as a hypocrite.