Henry Paulson Jr. : Treasury secretary

A Secretary for Troubling Times - New York Times: "President Bush's nomination of Henry Paulson Jr. to be the next Treasury secretary is a master stroke. A Wall Street investment banker for more than 30 years and head of Goldman Sachs for the past eight, Mr. Paulson will bring much-needed clout, pragmatism and credibility to the job.

In the past, the administration has had trouble attracting top talent to the Treasury because its officials were expected to shill for policies that were largely based on ideology and politics, not rigorous economics and sound fiscal practices. At this point, however, Mr. Bush has more or less accomplished — or abandoned — his main economic goals: most of his tax cuts have been extended beyond his term, and he has ditched his ill-conceived plans to privatize Social Security and change the tax code.

Mr. Paulson will be free to focus on America's huge imbalances in trade and international transactions. "