WB

President Bush has selected former U.S. trade representative Robert Zoellick to replace Paul Wolfowitz as president of the World Bank, senior administration officials say. Zoellick's nomination, expected to be made official Wednesday...

Yes, especially for a Republican Washington insider, Zoellick is about as golden as it gets. He has had very prominent positions in President Reagan's administration and the first President Bush's State Department. And the current President Bush has already appointed him to two prominent positions. However, Zoellick has let it be known quite openly that he was very upset that he was not named treasury secretary in 2005. And he was also upset that he was not named World Bank president in 2005, when Wolfowitz was given the job.

So Zoellick gave up Washington and entered private industry at Goldman Sachs — which is one of the world's most powerful and important financial institutions, so he probably had the same access to government leaders over the past few years.