More Reasons for Bush to Nominate Okonjo-Iweala

Oh how I would dearly love to see George W Bush nominate Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

as the next president of the World Bank! Her op-ed

in the IHT today shows just how good of a choice she would be:

I know personally that Bank staffers will favor reform – in fact will demand

it – if they are convinced it will enhance the work they do to assist the

poor people of the world.

The World Bank has so much to offer the world. But it needs to adapt, it needs

to be flexible in a changing world. The excruciating experience it is going

through can be turned to good if it is seen as an opportunity for true change

and reform.

Will Bush listen to what this highly-qualified candidate has to say? Maybe

he’ll listen to House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank,

House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey, House Ways

and Means chairman Charles Rangel and House Foreign Affairs

Committee chairman Tom Lantos, instead:

"The nominee should be deeply committed to American values, but need

not have an American address. The global pool of talent is deep, and we should

make it clear that the United States believes that the

best nominee could come from anywhere," the congressmen said in a

letter dated May 24 and released on Friday.

I’d just note that Okonjo-Iweala is not only deeply committed to American values,

but also has an American address. The only thing she doesn’t have is an American

passport. There’s even a precedent for a foreign national becoming president

of the World Bank: Jim Wolfensohn. Although he, of course,

was nominated by a Democrat, Bill Clinton.

(Via)

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