Senate Approves Bernanke’s Second Term

I’m no big fan of Ben Bernanke. That being said, with Obama’s track record of appointees, I was afraid of who may have replaced him.

The Washington Times: The Senate on Thursday afternoon handed Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke a second term after a week of contentious debate.

In a 70-30 vote, the Senate voted to give the Fed chairman, originally nominated by former President George W. Bush, another four-year term at the helm of the world’s most powerful central bank. In overwhelmingly approving his renomination by President Obama, the Senate rejected arguments by senators on the left and right that Mr. Bernanke made fatal mistakes that led to the global financial crisis and Great Recession of the past two years.

The vote comes amid news that the economy weakened at the end of last year after posting robust growth during the summer and fall, when government stimulus measures promoting auto and home sales drove a pick-up in economic activity. Bernanke supporters warned that, with the economy in a still-fragile state, now was not the time to force radical change on the Fed, which is the agency on the front lines fighting the recession. …