Mr. Geithner also oversaw and regulated an entire industry whose decline has delivered a further blow to an already weakened American economy. Under his watch, some of the biggest institutions that were the responsibility of the New York Fed — Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and most recently, Citigroup — faltered. While he was one of the first regulators to smartly articulate the potential for an impending disaster, a number of observers question whether he went far enough to stop the calamity.

Sorkin also questions how effective Geithner has been in helping Treasury Sec. Henry M. Paulson Jr. manage the administration’s bailout strategy. Some observers have fingered Geithner as a proponent of the controversial decision to let Lehman Bros. fail:

Perhaps what has most people on Wall Street stirring is Mr. Geithner’s role in the fall of Lehman. At the time of its bankruptcy, he, along with Mr. Paulson, appeared to be the most vocal in supporting the government’s refusal to bail out the firm, according to people involved in various meetings. With hindsight, many in the financial industry blame a deepening of the global financial crisis on the government’s decision to let Lehman crumble.

That, Sorkin suggests, has led the Obama folks to try to rewrite the history books on the Lehman deliberations in order to let Paulson absorb all the blame:

These include the suggestion that Mr. Geithner was not in league with Mr. Paulson over Lehman; that Mr. Geithner pressed to save the firm from bankruptcy; that he was a lone voice on the subject and was overruled by Mr. Paulson and Ben S. Bernanke, the Fed chairman, on this issue.

In the confidence game of high finance, maybe none of this matters, and the reaction of Wall Street investors alone is enough to justify Geithner’s promotion. Still, you’d like to know that the guy at the helm of the Treasury Dept. knows which direction to steer.

Delaware’s governor today tapped a long-time adviser to Joe Biden to fill the Senate seat being vacated by the vice president-elect. Ted Kaufman served in Biden’s Senate office from 1973 to 1994, and currently serves on Biden’s vice-presidential transition team. From Biden’s statement:

I have known Ted Kaufman for over 30 years. He is a man of first-rate qualifications, unquestioned integrity and a long-time commitment to public service. As my Chief of Staff for 19 years, he was involved in many of the most important decisions I’ve made in the Senate. Further, he has been personally involved in handling many of the most important issues that we’ve faced in Delaware. From protecting Cape Henlopen, to putting more cops on the street, Ted has played a critical role in these accomplishments.

According to the Wilmington News Journal, however, there may have been other considerations as well. The paper reports that the choice “was widely seen as a move by Vice president-elect Biden to protect his seat for his son, Attorney General Beau Biden, now deploying to Iraq with his Delaware National Guard unit.”

And you know if there was a winner, there had to be a loser:

Snubbed with the choice was Lt. Gov. John Carney, considered a party favorite for the appointment. Carney as recently as last week had said he would take the job under any terms offered, including as a “placeholder” who would serve only until the 2010 regular election.

The News Journal said the pick “could leave Delaware Democratic Party feelings bruised for years to come.”

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the team “has the makings of the best economic team ever assembled.”

Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said the picks reflect “strong and early leadership.”

While Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa), the Finance Committee’s top Republican, said the choices have eased earlier concerns about an Obama administration:

During the campaign, the kind of change that the President-elect promised was so undefined it made me nervous. Now that he’s appointing familiar faces from the Clinton administration to very high-level positions I’m less concerned.

Not to stray too far from his entrenched oppositionism, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he’s ready to work with the Obama team to fix the economy, particularly if their strategy coincides with Boehner’s plan to stimulate spending by cutting taxes. “As we proceed,” Boehner said, “we should start by listening to the American people, who do not believe increasing government spending is the best way to put our economy back on track.”

Obama, of course, supports an enormous economic stimulus bill that would pump billions of dollars into infrastructure projects, state Medicaid programs and Detroit’s struggling auto industry. Some Democrats said over the weekend that the price tag could reach $700 billion — all borrowed, largely from abroad.

That’s not going to make Boehner happy. Then again, Washington would be boring if everyone got along.

She responded haltingly:

You know, right now, I have a great job, and that’s — I’m not looking for a new job, and that’s as far as I go.

Not exactly a decisive response, but also not a denial.

By contrast, politicians who are not interested in cabinet posts have been unequivocal in their denials. Take a look at today’s statements by Andy Stern, a potential labor secretary, and Al Gore, mentioned as a possible “climate czar”:

Stern: “It’s highly unlikely I would be asked, and I wouldn’t be interested if I was.”

Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider: “Former Vice President Gore does not intend to seek or accept any formal position in government.”

Napolitano is currently serving as an adviser to Obama’s transition team, and she told me that the transition is going “very well.” The team is working on creating “some broad policy for the transition” and “making sure that teams have been set up to properly review the agencies and have materials ready both for the president- and vice-president-elect and for incoming cabinet members, once they’re selected.”

No word yet on whether she’ll be among them.

After an hour at Regents Park this morning, Obama hunkered down in a building near his campaign headquarters in downtown Chicago.  The plan is to spend five hours there, according to aide Jen Psaki. Obama will huddle with aides and also speak on a national conference call to thank his victorious organizers.

Obama also announced a transition team, organized as a 501(c)(4), and a new website, change.gov, to share the process with the public.  John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett and Pete Rouse are running the effort, and they will draw on this advisory board:

Carol Browner, William Daley, Christopher Edley, Michael Froman, Julius Genachowski, Donald Gips, Gov. Janet Napolitano, Federico Peña, Susan Rice, Sonal Shah, Mark Gitenstein, and Ted Kaufman.

The transition team’s senior staff was also announced, featuring many key operatives from the Obama campaign:

Chris Lu – Executive Director
Dan Pfeiffer – Communications Director
Stephanie Cutter – Chief Spokesperson
Cassandra Butts – General Counsel
Jim Messina – Personnel Director
Patrick Gaspard – Associate Personnel Director
Christine Varney – Personnel Counsel
Melody Barnes – Co-Director of Agency Review
Lisa Brown – Co-Director of Agency Review
Phil Schiliro – Director of Congressional Relations
Michael Strautmanis – Director of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs
Katy Kale – Director of Operations
Brad Kiley – Director of Operations

When Obama entered the building today, he also took a moment to acknowledge the traveling reporters who spent a long night monitoring his evolution from candidate to president-elect.

“Hi guys — did you get much sleep?” he asked, according to a pool report.  One photographer replied “not much,” and a Reuters reporter returned the question. “Not as much as I’d like,” Obama said, just before he entered the building.