Barack Obama lives by brands， from his white sox cap to his Harvard Law connections to his campaign's logo. In 2008 he became a global brand—a "tangible， visual articulation of a 'thought style'，" as marketing guru Jonah Disend puts it.

　　Having won as one， the president-elect is now busy branding his administration with big-time political and business names that are products of big-time institutions—the Ivy League， the Marine Corps， the Fed. If he has a "thought style" right now it's not "change we can believe in" but， he has to hope， "rock-solid competence."

　　It will soon fall to Obama to restore the world's shattered confidence in the United States—in its ability to govern itself， revitalize its economy and lead the planet. Without that confidence， investors foreign and domestic will remain reluctant to plunge back into the American market. The consensus of the financial experts is that there is perhaps $3 trillion in cash sitting on the sidelines， much of that money in sovereign wealth funds in China， the Persian Gulf and Scandinavia. "We need a lot of that money back here，" says Robert Hormats， vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International. "By hiring and associating with well-known， well-respected figures， Obama is saying to investors: It's safe to come back. America knows what it's doing."