You Can Call Me Al

The world is waiting for the next act from the 80-year-old fellow who held the second-most-powerful job in Washington for nearly two decades -- the maestro, Alan Greenspan. He's reportedly negotiating for office space on D.C.'s Connecticut Avenue, within spitting distance of K Street and its web of lobbyists. Ethics rules preclude Greenspan from representing anyone before the Federal Reserve Board, but he could write books and schedule appearances. And nothing stops him from selling high-priced research. Or he could advise a mutual fund or hedge fund. (The Exuberant fund?)

Once away from the Fed, Greenspan will be able to invest his own funds without restriction (he should diversify a portfolio that's been concentrated in Treasury debt). On his 2005 disclosure form, Greenspan lists assets between $4 million and $8 million. He qualifies for social security (call it compensation for chairing the 1983 Commission for Social Security Reform) and a government pension.

Retirement will leave Greenspan and wife Andrea Mitchell, 59, chief foreign-affairs correspondent for NBC News, more time for the social circuit and for another passion: tennis. A Juilliard-trained tenor sax and clarinet player, he might even form a jazz ensemble. That way, we could still call him maestro.