From Microsoft’s local paper.

According to Bloomberg News, Christine Varney, who President Barack Obama has nominated to be the next antitrust chief, is not so concerned about Microsoft’s market position.

“For me, Microsoft is so last century. They are not the problem,” Varney said at a panel discussion sponsored by the American Antitrust Institute in June, according to the Bloomberg report. The U.S. economy will “continually see a problem — potentially with Google” because it already “has acquired a monopoly in Internet online advertising,” she said.

“When all our enterprises move to computing in the clouds and there is a single firm that is offering a comprehensive solution,” Varney said, “you are going to see the same repeat of Microsoft.”

Varney’s view is clearly good news for Redmond, which already seemed to be in favor with the Bush Justice Department. Google and Yahoo abandoned their advertising deal last fall after the Department of Justice said it would file an antitrust lawsuit to block it. Microsoft had lobbied against the deal. Thanks to Rex Hughes for spotting it.

The advertising angle is worth watching. Google’s grip on paid search pricing affects every category that depends on it for customer acquisition, from mortgage lenders and slots for real money operators to B2B software vendors. If Varney follows through on the monopoly framing, the ripple effects will reach well beyond Mountain View.