Paul Volcker and the Obama Administration

As an early supporter of Barack Obama, Paul Volcker gave the young presidential candidate gravitas and advice. He frequently sat by Mr. Obama's side at key economic events, and started carrying a cellphone for the first time, just to be able to brainstorm with the candidate from the campaign trail.

In the Obama White House, the role of the 81-year-old former chairman of the Federal Reserve has been more limited.

The one-time central banker has been put in charge of a presidential advisory board that hasn't yet had a formal meeting. It has been nearly a month since he has seen Mr. Obama. Mr. Volcker hasn't been a main player in key decisions handling the global financial crisis...

When Mr. Obama announced the blue-ribbon advisory group on Feb. 6, he praised Mr. Volcker as "one of the world's foremost economic policy experts." With big names like General Electric Co. Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt, the group, Mr. Obama said, would provide "voices to come from beyond the Washington echo chamber...." At a ceremony in the White House's East Room, the president added that the group would "meet regularly" with him.

So far, the full group hasn't met. "The whole organizational side of this has been a nightmare," Mr. Volcker says. A White House spokeswoman says it will hold its first quarterly meeting in mid-May.

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