I was surprised to read in a news -item this phrase: ” The president-elect (Obama ) plans to announce Geithner’s appointment in Chicago on Monday, barring an unforeseen snag in a background check that is nearly complete…….”.

Consider this scenario in India: Our Prime-minister wants to appoint a current MP or an individual to one of the cabinet positions and that lady or gentleman is asked to consent for a background check (supposing a well-organized system for back-ground check is already in place, which of course is not threre as we know!), probably the hell will break loose! That is simply against the political culture in our country!
Ironically, we do not have a well-developed system to identify a person in India. Despite the great needs of that (to curb illegal immigration for example), the beaurocratic machinery or the political establishment has been sleeping over this issue! For the sake of identity, various options are allowed: voter ID card, PAN number, ration -card and so forth. That means there is always a chance to let the things slip through!