And I also want to take a minute to thank Bob Zoellick once again for all his hard work.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Nominates Jim Yong Kim for World Bank President | The White House

Bob Zoellick, the head of the World Bank, argues that the best way to protect the poor without harming farmers is through conditional cash transfers.

ECONOMIST: Making food cheaper is not impossible

Last year, World Bank chief Bob Zoellick called for a return to the gold standard, while Chinese officials have been calling on the US to fix its finances so as to correct global imbalances.

FORBES: Central Banks Dump Treasuries As Dollar's Reserve Currency Status Fades

In John Danforth, a former senator who is now America's ambassador to the United Nations, or in Bob Zoellick, the trade representative, the president could have found someone in the multilateralist Powell mould, had he wanted to do so.

ECONOMIST: The Bush reshuffle