Can Tim Geithner Lead the Economy Out of Its Mess?

More than any other official, new Treasury chief Timothy Geithner bears the burden of rescuing the U.S. economy. Is he the right man for the job?

Brian Kersey / Getty

Timothy Geithner, President-elect Barack Obama's Treasury Secretary nominee

Every year at the end of August, the high priests of the U.S. financial system — the board of governors and staff of the Federal Reserve — gather at a remote resort high in the mountains near Jackson Hole, Wyo., and there, amid the Tetons, listen to lectures by invited economists on a variety of topics, hoping the fresh air and proximity to genuine cowboy bars might lead to clear thinking and sound economic policy.

A good time is usually had by all — except when the global financial markets are sending out warnings of extreme stress to come. By...

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