Bernanke: Like the economy, wheezing through...

Ben Bernanake

Like the sputtering economy, Ben Bernanake's nomination for a second term at the Federal Reserve has wheezed through a US Senate vote.  With a vote of 70-30 in his favour, the New York Times noted that this ''was the weakest endorsement ever extended to a chairman in the Fed's 96-year history.''

With enough senators signalling their anger at his re-nomination the warning signals were out and the White House, along with Bernanke's impressive network of influential friends, rolled up their sleeves and got down to work. Op-eds in newspapers from names with impressive credentials followed – some decent enough to mention that they owed their current positions, or sinecures, to Bernanke himself. Others tried to strike an aloof, disinterested pose.

But the message was the same. Bernanke wasn't at fault – indeed it was thanks to him that the US had pulled out of this deep recession.

This was a thesis that equally influential people, such as senators, were not inclined to buy.

Anger around the country at big banks and their regulators, including the Fed was palpable.

"As the nation continues to face the consequences of the worst recession in a generation, Ben