Despite Bernie Sanders' commonsense arguments, Bernanke squeaked through. Well, good luck with that, I guess. I find what comfort I can in Paul Krugman's prediction that if Bernanke wasn't approved, they'd end up giving in to the Republicans and picking someone who's even worse:
WASHINGTON — The Senate gave Ben S. Bernanke a second four-year term as the head of the Federal Reserve on Thursday after critics excoriated the central bank’s conduct in the years leading up to the financial crisis.
The 70-to-30 vote was the weakest endorsement ever extended to a chairman in the Fed’s 96-year history.
The confirmation was a victory for President Obama, who had called Mr. Bernanke an architect of the recovery, but also signaled the extent to which the Fed, once little known to the public, has become the object of outrage over high unemployment and bank bailouts.
