Wall Street cheered President Bush’s choice of Ben Bernanke to replace Alan Greenspan when he retires in January. Bernanke is chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, an Ivy League-trained academic and a former member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Directors. In other words, Bernanke has scholarly achievements, varied written accomplishments and clear academic pursuits.
The Dow rose 169 points on the news.
Said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard and Poor’s, “we probably got Monday’s little rally because everyone’s happy it wasn’t Bush’s accountant.”
Let’s see if Bush learns anything from this announcement. After all, Chief Justice Roberts had stellar credentials and sailed through the process relatively easily. Now Bernanke — with his wealth of qualifications — appears to be widely accepted by Wall Street.
Harriet Miers, on the other hand, still faces stiff opposition.
Is there a message here, Mr. President?
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