Monday, October 24, 2005

Bush's power: good and bad

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Bush is almost certainly the most powerful president in my lifetime (1964-present). He saw the country through the end of our last recession, the Hainan spy plane crisis with China, 9/11, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and hurricane Katrina. He has chosen the new Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court as well as one associate justice, and now he has chosen a new Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Few presidents have had so many lucky, and unlucky, circumstances to deal with.

The new Fed Chairman, replacing Alan Greenspan, is Ben Bernanke. From AP / ABC News:


    President Bush named top White House economic adviser Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board on Monday in place of near-legendary Alan Greenspan as the official in closest control of interest rates.

    Bernanke instantly announced his first priority would be "to maintain continuity with the policy and policy strategies under the Greenspan era."

    Bush said his choice as the nation's new central banker "commands deep respect in the financial community." And he lavished praise on Greenspan, 79, calling him a legend who "has shepherded our economy through its highs and its lows."

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