Washington and Wall Street's chattering classes are excited about a squiggle or doodle that consists of a series of nine linked loops. Some experts have compared it to scribbling by a not very bright bored child, others to a practice session by the machine that decorates Hostess cupcakes, and yet others have said it looks like curly fries that took a curl too far.
The nine loops, medium-sized at the start, diminishing for five loops, then increasing again for the last three, ending with a final throw like a discarded rope comprise a signature that could soon become one of the most sought-after pieces of art in the world. The loopy loops are the signature of Jacob Joseph Lew, former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, whom Obama nominated to take over as his Treasury secretary from Timothy Geithner. The Senate confirmed Lew for the position on Feb. 27.
The Treasury secretary's signature is on every U.S. dollar bill. It is perhaps unfortunate, but typical of the preoccupations of the modern media, that the signature is distracting attention from the really important question — what will he bring to the job?