Robert Rubin for Treasury Secretary.

[terrya]

Flame away, but I think it would be a good choice.

[BlueEyedSon]

1. No flame from me. He's brilliant.

[Jacobin]

2. No kidding

Most robust economy in our history.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

3. Again? will he do it?

This Slate article seems to indicate he is unavailable, and puts forth the following candidates: Roger Altman, Steven Rattner, James Johnson, Franklin Raines, Jon Corzine, Gene Sperling, Peter G. Peterson, Warren Buffett.

The Men Who Would Be Bob
Can Kerry find his own Robert Rubin?
By Daniel Gross

Quick—name the secretary of the treasury. I bet you can't. Or if you can, you had to think about it before you remembered the eminently forgettable John Snow.

It wasn't like that in the '90s, when Wall Streeters would melt like smitten schoolgirls at the very mention of the word "Bob." Former Goldman Sachs supremo Robert Rubin, the treasury secretary and economic adviser, was the unsullied genius of the Clinton administration's economic team and a mascot of the long-running bull market. Usually Wall Street and big business types are wary of Democrats on economics (despite the fact that the stock market performs better under Democratic presidents than Republican ones). But Rubin soothed Wall Street and business.

John Kerry and John Edwards badly need a Rubin of their own. The top economic adviser should be someone who has made a ton of money (proof of entrepreneurship), doesn't mind paying higher marginal tax rates (big heart), and who can speak credibly about the relationship between deficits and interest rates (big brain): someone who can soothe the markets, massage the egos of CEOs, and sell policies that may be occasionally out of sync with the revanchist minds at the Business Roundtable.

Rubin doesn't seem to be available this time around, and his Rubinesque successor, Larry Summers, appears to be enjoying his dream job as president of Harvard. But Kerry needn't worry. His bench is pretty deep. Here is the Moneybox guide to the men who would play Bob Rubin to John Kerry's Clinton.

MORE: http://slate.msn.com/id/2103851

[terrya]

5. That's a shame, but either Peterson or Gene Sperling would be good.

I'm sort of iffy about Jon Corzine, because we would be losing a Senate seat.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

6. I was pretty impressed with Peterson on 'Topic A' yesterday.

Since I have always been a deficit hawk. He did not come out and endorse Kerry (paraphrase: "I'm waiting to see"), but he clearly expressed his opposition to Bush.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Let's get bi-partisan! How about Bernie Sanders?

Works for me.

[elfin]

7. Did you notice that he was sitting in the box

with Edwards, Teresa et al at the convention??? If not Treas. then he will be very influential in who gets the nod. I know it was him, but didn't see any mention of it here or on the networks.

[terrya]

8. Maybe Fed Chairman next year?

I have a feeling President Kerry might want to get rid of Alan Greenspan. If not Treasury, maybe Rubin would accept that.