She calls herself a TARP wife, and offers a rare glimpse of what it’s like to be married to a Wall Street executive and former Master of the Universe who took billions in taxpayer dollars to bail out his company.

Economist Paul Krugman, who describes John Maynard Keynes as his “economic idol,” may be the right man at the right time. But supporters of Barack Obama certainly hope not.

James H. Lambright, head of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., has been tapped for a top job overseeing the $700-billion financial bailout.

The same Phil Gramm who this week said the economy is not as bad as people think and that we’ve “become a nation of whiners” once tried to peddle so-called “death bonds” to the state of Texas and its teacher pension fund.

Veteran politicians and former government staffers have been lobbying Washington for clients seeking tax cuts as part of the economic stimulus package.

During recent weeks, a coalition of hotel, financial services, energy companies and manufacturers pressed lawmakers to include in the package a reduction in the capital gains tax rate.