With the Nov. 6 presidential election disappearing into our foggy and distant past, the speculation over who will do what in Obama II has arrived.
Of course one of the most important jobs for the US and global economies will be filling the chair soon-to-be vacated by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
And, oh yes, the guessing game has begun.
Jack Yew, the current White House Chief of Staff, and close Obama pal? (Dr. Doom — aka Nouriel Roubini — predicted that pick on Twitter).
What about Lael Brainard, Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs? She's already at Treasury, and has a good handle on things.
Sheryl Sandberg, the current COO of Facebook — as well as a former executive at Google after stints at both Treasury and the World Bank — is another intriguing choice now making the speculation rounds on the web.
So, too, are familiar names like Erskine Bowles, Roger Altman, Sheila Bair, Larry Fink, among others.
But the most interesting argument I've heard today comes from Mark Dow of the blog Behavioral Macro, published today on Business Insider.
His pick?
Hillary Clinton.
Now stay with him here:
And that means political skill may end up being more important than a resume featuring top jobs in Treasury or on Wall Street.
But that's not the entire argument Dow is making.
The most compelling part is his analysis that America's greatest economic challenges are global in nature. No single country — and certainly not one with the fiscal and structural problems of these United States — can work alone to fix its problems.
Again, here's Dow:
Who better, then, than the woman who just spent four years leading America's foreign policy, and who also knows her way around politicians and Capitol Hill, as well as spawning one of the year's best internet memes?
Hillary for Treasury.
You heard it here first.