From Davos: Where oh where is the Obama team?

Thus far, the Obama administration isn’t making much of a showing. Undersecretary of State Bob Hormats did a strong job on yesterday’s U.S.-China panel. But there’s little coordination and not much of a message. If Secretary of State Clinton is too busy, why not send Vice President Biden? Combined with perfunctory foreign policy mention in the State of the Union, I’d suspect it’s a feeling that anything but domestic issues isn’t going to play well politically. That’s not the strategy I’d be going with.

So for the American delegation, it’s the U.S. private sector that’s leading the charge here. And the omnipresent Barney Frank — who yesterday told a private industry group to stop listening to what congress says, and look at actual policies … do they have anything to complain about? Heads nod reasonably sagely.   

Meanwhile, criticism of imminent political explosion grows as the nights wear on. Rogue economist/historian/documentarian Niall Ferguson, distinctly unshaven (proffered excuse–he forgot his razor on his flight from Delhi), wagered me $100 that the United States would have a new Secretary of Treasury by June 1st this year. Wager accepted. Howard Lutnick of Cantor Fitzgerald said he’d go $100 for Sept. 1. The bankers are always pushing it. 

Ian Bremmer will be blogging from Davos this week sending reports and commentary from inside the World Economic Forum.