Bernanke endorses Obama
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Bernanke Endorses Obama
There was a time when Fed chairmen feared to even seem political.
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Ben Bernanke apparently wants four more years as Federal Reserve
Chairman. At least that's a reasonable conclusion after Mr. Bernanke
all but submitted his job application to Barack Obama yesterday by
endorsing the Democratic version of fiscal "stimulus."
AP
Ben Bernanke.
While the Fed chief said any stimulus should be "well targeted," even
a general endorsement amounts to a political green light. Mr. Bernanke
certainly knows that Mr. Obama and Democrats on Capitol Hill are
talking about some $300 billion in new "stimulus" spending, while
President Bush and Republicans are resisting. And by saying any help
should "limit longer-term effects" on the federal deficit, he had to
know he was reinforcing Democratic opposition to permanent tax cuts.
Mr. Bernanke could have begged off -- and would have been wiser to do
so -- given how much the Fed has already made itself a political
lightning rod with its many Wall Street interventions. He might also
have thought twice about endorsing one party's policy preferences a
mere two weeks before Election Day given his obligation to preserve
the Fed's independence. We can remember when tougher Fed chairmen used
to refrain from adjusting interest rates close to an election for fear
of seeming to be political; they would never have dreamed of meddling
in campaign tax and spending debates.
Perhaps Mr. Bernanke's blunderbuss political intrusion will win him
more Democrat friends, and maybe even Mr. Obama's goodwill. To the
rest of the world, he has harmed the Fed and made himself less
credible.