Can Paulson Save the Economy?

It is late on a summer afternoon, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is sipping a Diet Coke in his giant corner office a patch away from the White House and doling out career advice. His secret to success? "You define your job expansively."

He practices what he preaches. Lured to Treasury from Goldman Sachs two summers ago by a President in need of domestic-policy credibility, Paulson has grabbed the rudder of a $14 trillion national economy churning its way through a maelstrom. There's always a danger in attributing too much economic impact...