David Leonhardt has a thoughtful analysis of Bernanke's first two years as Fed chairman today. However, at one point he comments that presidential candidates usually refuse to talk about the Fed to show that they realize it is an independent body. While this may accurately describe the efforts of presidents and presidential candidates to evade responsibility for one of the government's main tools for affecting the economy, it does not accurately describe the legal status of the Fed. The Fed is quite explicitly responsible to Congress and the president to carry out specific charges, most importantly maintaining high levels of employment (defined as 4 percent unemployment) and low inflation. It is entirely appropriate for presidential candidates to comment on the Fed's performance and to discuss the sort of approach that he/she would look for in prospective nominees for Fed governors. In many ways, these governors can be the president's most important appointees. It is negligent for reporters to allow candidates to evade discussing such an important topic.
--Dean Baker
