The list of possible successors to World Bank President James Wolfensohn includes one guy who you wouldn't expect.

Treasury Secretary John Snow yesterday would not rule out the idea of Irish singer Bono, an activist on debt relief and AIDS, making the short list of potential candidates to lead the World Bank, even though an American is expected to get the job.

"He's somebody I admire. He does a lot of good in this world of economic development," Mr. Snow said. "Most people know him as a rock star. He's in a way a rock star of the development world, too. He understands the give and take of development. He's a very pragmatic, effective and idealistic person."

"Pragmatic, effective and idealistic"?

Luckily this isn't likely to go anywhere: by convention, the U.S. gets its own choice as head of the World Bank while Europe chooses the head of the IMF. This idea of Bono for the job, coming from a goofy LATimes editorial, should have been stillborn. It would have been easy for Snow to say, "I like Bono, and he's done good work in development, but the job traditionally goes to an American."

If anyone needs another reason to fire John Snow, look no further.