WASHINGTON: Young and pragmatic centrists will steer the economy in the Obama White House.
In a news conference yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama took his first major step to address the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression, announcing a team that believes in government intervention to aid market forces and using tax policies to narrow the widening income gap.
Obama's Cabinet begins to take shape
PRESIDENT-elect Barack Obama formally nominated Mr Timothy Geithner on Monday as his Treasury secretary and Mr Lawrence Summers to head the National Economic Council, filling two of the most closely watched jobs in his administration.
Here are people Mr Obama has chosen or is considering for key posts. Many remain subject to vetting and Senate confirmation before taking office.
'Even as we face great economic challenges, we know that great opportunity is at hand - if we act swiftly and boldly,' Mr Obama said.
But its members are also pro-free trade and in favour of whittling down budget deficits, a stance that will not be exactly popular with union leaders and left-wing elements of the Democratic Party.
As expected, Mr Obama named New York Federal Reserve president Timothy Geithner, 47, to head the Treasury and former Clinton administration treasury secretary Lawrence Summers, 53, as his closest economic aide.
With the choice of Mr Geithner, Mr Obama signalled continuity with the bailout process set in motion by the Bush Administration.
Mr Geithner, who has wide international experience but is not a professional economist, has been in leadership roles in the management of the crisis from the early days, participating in the rescue of Wall Street giants, including Bear Stearns and American International Group, and in the decision to let Lehman Brothers collapse. Just like Mr Obama, he had called for more federal oversight of the financial sector.
He has also held a variety of positions in the Treasury Department under three presidential administrations, and played a crucial role during the financial crises in Asia, Mexico and Russia.
Meanwhile, many analysts read the appointment of Mr Summers as the director of the National Economic Council (NEC) - the president's principal economic adviser and policy coordinator - as a sign that the centre of economic power is shifting from the Treasury to the White House.
The brilliant but temperamental economist, who was forced to quit the presidency of Harvard University after making anti-feminist comments, was a key adviser to Mr Obama during his election campaign.
In a recent article in a financial daily, Mr Summers suggested bold moves to tackle the crisis and iron out the systemic flaws in the economy.
'The crisis creates space to address longer-standing problems,' he said. 'Just as patients hear advice regarding diet and exercise differently after a heart attack, so recent events should make it possible for the next US administration to accomplish more than might previously have been thought possible.'
Berkeley economist Christina Romer was named as the head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Mr Obama also named Ms Melody Barnes to serve as director of the Domestic Policy Council.
Two other key economic advisers are also waiting in the wings.
Mr Jason Furman, 38, looks set to advise MrObama on a wide variety of policies as a member of the NEC, which ensures the economic policies are consistent with the president's intentions and having the intended results.
This body is like the president's think-tank, keeping tabs on the key economic numbers and drafting an annual economic report and policy recommendations.
Mr Daniel Tarullo, a law professor and Clinton administration international economics expert, is being eyed as US trade representative or member of the NEC.
