The WSJ discussed the likely line-up on a vote to approve Ben Bernanke's reappointment as Fed chairman. At one point it tells readers that:
"If the full Senate votes in a similar proportion that the Senate Banking Committee did in its 16-7 approval last month, Mr. Bernanke would receive 69 votes—the fewest since Paul Volcker, who was confirmed 84-16 for a second term in 1983."
This is difficult to understand. If Volcker received 84 votes supporting his second term then this is considerably more than the 69 projected for Bernanke.
It is probably also worth mentioning in the context of this vote, that the Fed's policy under Bernanke's tenure (both as fed chairman and as a member since 2002 of the 7 member Board of Governors) brought the economy to the brink of a second Great Depression, according to Mr. Bernanke's own assessment. This sort of performance would get a worker quickly fired in most other jobs.
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