America needs Dick Blumenthal.

Political junkies consistently note a marked reticence on Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s part about the prospect of being Governor of Connecticut. And candidly, it isn’t a good fit. Now in his sixties, with his kids nearly grown and a new day dawning on public service, Blumenthal sees new and desirable possibilities. None of these is the Governor’s mansion. He has long harbored, it is said, a desire to serve in the United States Senate or a seat on the Federal bench. But he might also find great satisfaction elsewhere:

� We’re a nation in crisis � how exciting to face that crisis and all the challenges at a time when the nation is excited for the first time since John F. Kennedy about the possibilities for service at the national level � Obama has made politics again a noble calling and I think that raises all kinds of opportunities for me … I think we’re in transition. You know, the political landscape has really changed. � Barack Obama’s victory has offered tremendous new opportunity and we have challenges like never before. � for example, keeping people in their homes. We’ve sued Countrywide the big mortgage lender and we’ve won a settlement with them, but the Federal Government ought to be doing what that settlement does, keeping people in their homes by lowering interest rates and reducing the principal that people have to pay � that kind of challenge, for me is what’s gonna really preoccupy my attention�

Blumenthal has been devoted to all manner of consumer protection, perhaps most famously in the leading role he played in the successful litigation against the tobacco companies that gave him the kind of national bona fides that few candidates for a regulatory role in Washington can match. And the crisis in the financial system is historic. Might this be a perfect fit for Dick Blumenthal?

Consider this from a story last week:

� no formal action has been taken to fill the independent oversight posts established by Congress when it approved the bailout to prevent corruption and government waste. Nor has the first monitoring report required by lawmakers been completed, though the initial deadline has passed.
“It’s a mess,” said Eric M. Thorson, the Treasury Department’s inspector general, who has been working to oversee the bailout program until the newly created position of special inspector general is filled. “I don’t think anyone understands right now how we’re going to do proper oversight of this thing.”
In approving the rescue package, lawmakers trumpeted provisions in the legislation that established layers of independent scrutiny, including a special inspector general to be nominated by the White House � Some lawmakers and their aides fear that political squabbling on Capitol Hill and bureaucratic logjams could delay their work for months.
The legislation grants the special inspector, who is expected to be the primary overseer of the program, a budget of $50 million. The measure calls for him to conduct audits and investigations of how the government spends money under the bailout program, including on equity investments in firms. In particular, he is to report about any assets acquired and their value, plus an explanation of why they were acquired and details on individuals or companies involved in the transactions. � Some Republican lawmakers have said they are also concerned that Democrats may avoid acting on the nomination so that Barack Obama can choose his own special inspector general after he becomes president.

[emphasis added]

Sounds like a helluva gig for the right guy.

Now, what candidate might have all of the following: a champion the White House might listen to (say, Joe Lieberman); be virtually guaranteed a warm welcome from the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee (Chaired by Chris Dodd); and be acceptable to an Obama Administration? Someone eminently qualified, passionate, and tireless to construct this new office? Someone with the legal mind and political experience to make his way successfully in the corridors of power in Washington? A true regulator, not someone coming from one of the firms he would be regulating? An advocate with decades of experience not just enforcing the law, but a champion committed to doing what is right, as a public service?

Richard Blumenthal for Special Inspector General.

Sources: WFSB, Face the State; Amit R. Paley, The Washington Post.