The global recession has raised difficult questions about the primacy of market-based democracies and their ability to lead the global economy. The transatlantic partnership must undertake an aggressive, coordinated effort to reaffirm its leadership of the world economic order on two main fronts. First, the dramatic collapse of the financial sector demonstrates the need for strategic regulatory reform. Policymakers must address key weaknesses in regulatory agencies, banking structure, ratings agencies, and the role of lenders of last resort. Second, monetary policy needs to return to the forefront of the transatlantic conversation. The United States and the European Union should act now to preserve and enhance the advantages of having the world’s most powerful currencies. The reforms resulting from this far-sighted, cooperative effort would help each side of the Atlantic escape their own unique crises, as they solve their shared crisis together.