It is Barack Obama’s staff choices that provide the best indications as to what sort of president he will turn out to be. And so far the signs are encouraging， both in terms of the process and the results. Mr Obama is moving much faster and more smoothly than most incoming presidents manage. And his choices are reassuring， especially for those who feared a shift to the left.

　　On the economic side， by giving the two main jobs to pragmatic centrists—Tim Geithner for treasury secretary and Larry Summers to chair the National Economic Council， the White House body that co-ordinates economic policymaking—Mr Obama has shown that he values experience over ideology， and competence over personal loyalty. Some of those who worked hardest to get him elected have had only meagre reward for it， whereas Mr Geithner is someone whom Mr Obama does not know well. The appointment of Peter Orszag， a noted critic of lax spending， to run the budget office is another good move: it hints that Mr Obama will be a spending hawk as well as a stimulator. On the security side， by keeping on George Bush’s first-rate defence secretary， Robert Gates， and (probably) by choosing a former general， Jim Jones， as his national security adviser， Mr Obama is showing that he will not let himself be tagged with the “Defeaticrat” label.