Bernanke’s Bid for a Second Term at the Fed Hits Resistance

From The New York Times:

The Obama administration struggled on Friday to secure confirmation of Ben S. Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, underscoring the political upheaval as both parties tried to find their footing amid a powerful wave of populism.

Two Democratic senators who are up for re-election this year announced that they would oppose Mr. Bernanke, whose four-year term as head of the central bank expires at the end of this month. Their decisions reflected a surge of opposition among some Democrats and Republicans to Mr. Bernanke, a primary architect of the bailout of the financial system and a contributor to policies that critics contend put the economy at risk in the first place.

By the end of the day, the White House had extracted a statement of support for Mr. Bernanke from the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, who had been noncommittal. Mr. Reid’s statement, issued after the markets closed, was intended to signal that Democrats, backed by some Republicans, could come up with the 60 votes necessary to break a deadlock and reconfirm Mr. Bernanke.

But even then Mr. Reid’s statement was remarkably unenthusiastic.

[S]ome influential Republican senators, including Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, have said they will back Mr. Bernanke. [I do like Sen. Judd Gregg.]