The Next Big Appointment - Chairman of the Fed

So now that W has nominated his personal lawyer as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, speculation turns to his next big appointment: Who will lead the Federal Reserve after Alan Greenspan's departure on Jan 1?

At his press conference this afternoon, the President described the kind of nominee he was seeking.

"The nominees will be people that, one, is a person I know and who, secondly, will not be hobbled by experience." Bush continued, "It's important that whomever I pick is not overqualified for the job because this is a big and important job to do and we need the right kind of person who won't quit when a better job offer comes along. We need someone who is dependable, who shows up at work on time, who looks at the big picture and who won't get lost in the forest because of the trees, or maybe lose the trees in the forest, or something like that."

Speculation is that the President will again depart from the list of highly qualified candidates and chose from his inner circle - this time selecting his longtime tax accountant, Miriam P. Fishbaum.

Fishbaum, 62, has prepared taxes for several members of the Bush family since 1983. He also has experience as the night auditor at the university Motel Six in Austin, Tx.

Is he qualified? In any other administration his lack of credentials would rule him out. However, he has the trust of the president, which counts more than a piece of paper with funny writing on it.

Said the President, "I would trust him with my W2, my wife's and my daughter's. He is a man who can count and a man you can count on. So he is obviously the right man at the right time for the right job."

Mr. Fishbaum was unavailable for comment prior to this report. His mother, with whom he lives, said he couldn't come to the phone because he was sleeping. "He worked a extra shift this week because the other night auditor went and quit."