Snow plow

For all the mismanagement the Cheney administration has become synonymous with, Bolten wants to shake things up by getting rid...of Snow? Fascinating.

A prominent Republican in Washington who consults often with the White House said Mr. Bolten, who is to assume his duties next month, wants Mr. Bush to replace the Treasury secretary, John W. Snow, with someone who can more forcefully communicate the administration's message that the economy is strong. This Republican was granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations within the administration.

Speculation about Mr. Snow's departure has flared and receded periodically for more than a year, and it returned after Mr. Bush's announcement on Tuesday that Mr. Bolten, the White House budget director, would succeed Andrew H. Card Jr. as chief of staff.

So, the former budget director, Bolten, who has overseen the ballooning of the largest deficit in the history of the world, thinks that what the administration needs now is someone more practiced in the gentle art of persuasion. I say "the administration," because "the economy" or "the nation" or "America's workers" don't really factor in now, do they?

And who might they be looking for? A Robert Rubin type? Well, sort of...

Names circulating in Republican circles as possible candidates for the Treasury post included Henry M. Paulson Jr., the chief executive of Goldman Sachs; John J. Mack, the chief executive of Morgan Stanley; and Richard D. Parsons, the chairman of Time Warner.

It was unclear if any of the three would consider taking the job. Their names surfaced immediately after Mr. Bolten's appointment because Mr. Bolten, who once worked for Goldman Sachs, is friendly with Mr. Paulson and Mr. Mack. Karl Rove, the president's chief political adviser, is said to think highly of Mr. Parsons, who has worked with the White House on several issues, including its efforts to overhaul Social Security.

Republicans said that if Mr. Bush turned to Wall Street for a new Treasury secretary, it could help reassure financial markets, which are increasingly worried about record-high budget and trade deficits.

...except that Robert Rubin was prepared to, ya know, actually do something about the "record-high budget and trade deficits."

The play's the thing, don't you know. Actually governing? That's so 90s, I guess.