You cite two reasons for Barack Obama’s renomination of Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman: his sterling performance so far, and the political danger of ditching him at this awkward juncture (“Right Man, Rough Job,” August 29, 2009). I am with you on the latter reason, but I wonder about the former one. As you point out close to the end of your leader, “with short-term rates close to zero, the monetary balancing-act must be performed with untested equipment.” And who is responsible for this state of affairs? Why, it was Ben Bernanke himself! He drove down the prime rate of interest faster than anyone else anywhere around the world. Thus he swiftly lost one of the most tested pieces of equipment available to a central banker. This would be a sufficient reason to ditch him, not to mention his dogged support for Alan Greenspan’s refusal to raise the rate to head off asset bubbles. How very wrong this was is clear enough from the worst crisis since the Great Depression.