Obama renominates Bernanke for another term

US President Barack Obama today nominated Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke for a second consecutive term in office, and said a full economic recovery is still an uphill task for America.

In his maiden press appearance at Martha’s Vineyard, where he is on a vacation with his family, Obama said, "...We need Ben to continue the work he is doing, and that is why I have said that we cannot go back to an economy based on over-leveraged banks, inflated profits, and maxed-out credit cards."

Announcing that Bernanke's, whose current term ends January 31, renomination, Obama expressed satisfaction over the steps taken by his administration towards the recovery of the US economy, which going through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1930s.

 

He, however, conceded that the US has a long way to go before a complete healthy financial system and a full economic recovery is achieved.

He praised Bernanke for successfully leading the Federal Reserve through one of the worst financial crises that the US has ever faced.

"As an expert on the causes of the Great Depression, I am sure Ben never imagined that he would be part of a team responsible for preventing another. But because of his background, his temperament, his courage, and his creativity, that's exactly what he has helped to achieve. That is why I am re-appointing him to another term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve," Obama said.

Bernanke has America's most powerful economic policy making job. The deep recession the US is in makes his task even tougher.

Bernanke said: "We have been bold or deliberate as circumstances demanded, but our objective remains constant: to restore a more stable financial and economic environment in which opportunity can again flourish and in which Americans' hard work and creativity can receive their proper rewards."

Media reports had said Obama impressed by Bernanke and his handling of the financial crisis wants him to continue.

"When Obama was elected, Bernanke seemed a long shot to be reappointed. He is a Republican — appointed by George W Bush to succeed Alan Greenspan — and had failed to prevent a deep recession. Many Fed watchers expected Obama to turn to his current chief economic adviser Lawrence H Summers, for the Chairmanship of the Fed Reserve," The Washington Post wrote.

Obamam said Bernanke approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom; with bold action and out-of-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic free-fall.

Taken together, this "bold, persistent experimentation" has brought our economy back from the brink. They're steps that are working, Obama said.

"Under Bernanke's leadership, the Fed has cut short-term rates essentially to zero, deployed nearly $2 trillion to support mortgage lending and lower long-term interest rates, created innovative programs to support lending to consumers and businesses, and undertaken stress tests of large banks that helped instill confidence," the Post said.