The first thing a new president must do is to pick his team. Given the state of the economy, the most important selection at this point is that of Secretary of the Treasury. What criteria should President-elect Obama use to pick his next Treasury Secretary? Here are three:

• Does the person have the respect of Wall Street?
• Does the person know the current players and issues well?
• Does the person have the energy to run at full speed in what promises to be a 7-day a week position?

Obama is reportedly considering Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. Based on the criteria I’ve listed, the right person for the job is Geithner. Summers is an academic with an abrasive personality who is not steeped in the realities of Wall Street. Volcker is reportedly close to Obama and was widely respected on Wall Street, but at 81 he lacks the energy for the job.

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Memo to Obama: Pick Geithner for Treasury originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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