Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama doesn't plan to name a Treasury secretary or fill other top positions on his economic team this week, people familiar with the matter said, as he tries to keep from being drawn into Bush administration decisions he may disagree with.

``There is one president at a time,'' Valerie Jarrett, one of the transition chiefs, told NBC's ``Meet the Press'' yesterday. ``It's important to get going quickly but deliberately.''

Obama, who last week appointed Rahm Emanuel to be his chief of staff, may announce other senior White House staff appointments this week, the people said. On hold for now is the nomination of a Treasury secretary, with the two leading candidates remaining Lawrence Summers, who held the job under President Bill Clinton, and New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner.

Obama's advisers are concerned that choosing a Treasury secretary too early might force the president-elect and his senior advisers to get involved in the economic gathering President George W. Bush is hosting this weekend, or in decisions on the $700 billion financial-rescue plan Congress passed last month. Obama won't attend the summit, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said today.

``It's very smart of President-elect Obama and his team to separate themselves from what is done in the lame duck administration,'' said Damon Silvers, associate general counsel of the AFL-CIO labor federation in Washington. ``If you do get entangled with these issues, you become answerable for things you don't control.''

Support for Automakers

For example, Obama's advisers aren't sure they agree with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's decision not to allocate some of the $700 billion in government funding to non-financial companies, such as the struggling U.S. auto industry. The president-elect himself, in his first news conference last week, urged more government support of the carmakers.

Obama's transition staffers are determined to avoid the mistakes that President-elect Bill Clinton made in 1992, when he appointed top Cabinet officials before fully forming his senior staff, a decision that historians later said got his first term off to a halting start.

The downside of taking more time, Obama's transition advisers say, is that it creates an opportunity for interest groups to organize against the leading Treasury candidates.

Already the sniping has started. Since Summers's name was floated for the position, the former Treasury secretary and former president of Harvard University has come under renewed criticism from women's groups and other Democratic Party constituencies that would rather see someone else assume the post.

NOW's Reservations

The National Organization for Women has in recent days expressed reservations about Summers, mostly because of remarks he made in 2005 suggesting that women may lack an aptitude for science and math.

Organized labor is lobbying for Obama to pick another candidate, such as San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen or New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine.

Such issues may not be important in a final decision, though, because Summers has valuable allies including former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, another of the president-elect's transition advisers, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She praised Summers last week as ``one of America's leading economic minds.''

Options for Geithner

Meanwhile, some Obama advisers are suggesting that the other leading Treasury candidate, Geithner, should remain at the New York Fed, where he has played a central role alongside Paulson in managing the Bush administration's response to the financial crisis. Leaving Geithner where he is, in a non-political post, would provide some continuity in the rescue efforts without tying the Obama team to Bush administration policies.

Another scenario being discussed, people familiar with the plans say, would be to install Geithner as the deputy at Treasury, and give the top job to former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who would stay in the position for a year or so until the economy is on better footing.

Postponing the appointment beyond this week avoids putting Obama's team in an awkward position as Bush hosts a world economic summit in Washington Nov. 14 and 15. Obama's advisers don't want any of his senior appointees to be involved in meeting.

``The Bush administration is of the mind that misery loves company,'' said Paul Light, a professor of organization studies at New York University. ``Obama is well advised to stay away from the summit and keep his staff away from the summit.''

Second Summit

Leaders of the European Union last week gave Obama an out, calling for a second summit meeting at least 100 days after this weekend's gathering in Washington. That would mean the next meeting would occur after Obama has been sworn in as president on Jan. 20.

Obama himself was careful to stress that the U.S. ``has only one government and one president at a time'' on Nov. 7, when he convened his first news conference since becoming president- elect. ``And until Jan. 20 of next year, that government is the current administration.''

Yesterday, Obama's top advisers echoed the language when asked how the president-elect might weigh in on Bush's policies.

``We have one president at a time,'' John Podesta, a leader of Obama's transition effort, said on ``Fox News Sunday.'' ``The job is up to President Bush to move that legislation forward and try to keep economic recovery moving today.''

Emanuel, said on CBS's ``Face the Nation'' that ``there's one president, one administration at a time.'' Jarrett hit the same note on ``Meet the Press,'' saying: ``President Bush is still the president.''

Meanwhile, the search is on for someone to replace Obama in the Senate. Obama told reporters on Nov. 7 that the appointment would be solely up to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat. Still, the governor is likely to go along with Obama's pick. The president-elect favors his transition aide, Jarrett, for the position, WLS-TV news reported, without citing anyone.

To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Schmidt in Washington at rschmidt5@bloomberg.net. Kristin Jensen in Washington at kjensen@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 10, 2008 18:07 EST