Last week I posted  about how the Paulson plan went down in the House in part, or perhaps in large part, because of a failure by the administration to speak credibly about what was happening and why the plan was important.

That lack of credibility was on display again yesterday when the panic on Wall Street and elsewhere became obvious.  No one in a position of economic authority in Washington...absolutely no one...came forward to deal with the situation.  In one respect, that may have been a good thing: it's not at all clear that anyone in the White House or Treasury could have made a statement that would have had much of a positive impact and that might well have made the situation worse.

At this it's far too late, and there's been far too much economic and financial water under the bridge, for the Bush administration to reestablish its own credibility on the economy in any way.  That's why, from a communications perspective, the White House needs to find someone with that credibility who will lead its public efforts.

In other words..The Bush administration needs to rent someone else's credibility for three months by naming an economic crisis czar.

This man or woman would be the person who speaks publicly and coordinates the overall effort.  He or she would be the public face, someone who because of their personal credibility, would provide Wall Street and Main Street with the sense of calm that is needed but has been sorely lacking.

My question is who could serve in this capacity.

Former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin would seem a likely option, but his connection with Citi Group probably disqualifies him.  Paul Volcker would also seem like a good candidate, but he's a Wall Street guy who might not play well with all audiences.  Colin Powell doesn't have economic cred and might have overall credibility issues because of his defense of the administration's claim on weapons of mass destruction.

Warren Buffet seems like the best choice.  But I'm open for other suggestions.