Populist Anger At Ben Bernanke Hurting Financial Markets

I mentioned yesterday when writing about Senator Feingold and his opposition to confirming Ben Bernanke for another term as Federal Reserve Chariman, that the populist anger he was trying to tap into for political purposes was a wrong move.    I am quite upset by this actaully as  I usually agree with my favorite Senator.  But this time Russ and some other Senators are trying to use populist anger for political reasons and there is only one thing to tell them.  It must end.

The prospect of a prolonged delay—and possible rejection—of Mr. Bernanke weighed on financial markets. “If there was a sense that Congress really wanted someone better, that would be one thing, but if this is for political theater, that’s particularly dangerous,” said Jason Trennert, chief investment strategist at Strategas Research Partners.

Although seen by many officials and economists as one of the heroes who helped stave off another Great Depression, Mr. Bernanke has been a lightning rod for public anger over the bailout of the banking system and the rescue of insurer American International Group. “It is time for Main Street to have a champion at the Fed,” said Sen. Boxer, who is seen as a potential victim of the voter unrest that gave Republicans a Senate seat from Massachusetts this week. “Our next Federal Reserve chairman must represent a clean break from the failed policies of the past.”

Because at least four senators have used a Senate rule to object to a vote, Mr. Bernanke needs the support of 60 members. According to a Dow Jones Newswires tally, 26 senators have said they will back him; 15 have said they will oppose him. The remaining 59 haven’t said what they will do. Under Senate rules, the earliest a vote could come is Wednesday.

Inside the Beltway, analysts were likening the atmosphere to September 2008, shortly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, when the House initially rejected the Bush administration’s plea for $700 billion to bail out the banking system. “I think if you wanted to send the worst signal to the markets right now in the country and send us in a tailspin, it would be to reject this nomination,” said Bernanke backer Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Senate Banking Committee and who has said he won’t seek re-election.