Anytime President George W. Bush needs a high profile nominee, he only needs to do one thing — Walk down the hall and ask an adviser to do the job.
Ben S. Bernanke, Bush's top economic adviser, has been nominated to replace Alan Greenspan as the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
It seems Bush rarely leaves the West Wing to choose his nominees — whoever seems most qualified in the president's eyes has also been whoever is closest at the time. It really should take more than five minutes to look for a suitable nominee.
Bernanke is a less questionable nominee than Harriet Miers, who is Bush's nominee to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court. He seems qualified and very well might be the best person for the job. He wasn't a surprise nominee like Miers and, in fact, was the favorite to be appointed by analysts, economists and political experts.
When Greenspan was nominated, little was known about him outside of financial circles and he turned out to do a fine job as chairman.
However, Benanke's qualifications still need to be known.
Unlike Miers, who no one could have foreseen as a nominee for a high-profile government position, Bernanke has a definite history. It's our own fault if we don't know about him.
A former economics professor at Princeton University, Bernanke is widely respected by liberals and conservatives alike and seems to be a suitable replacement for Greenspan. Greenspan has even endorsed his potential successor.
Bernanke's ties to the Bush administration's economic plans, including his position as the head of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, raise questions about his objectivity.
It's important that whoever is chosen for the position is nonpartisan. Although Bernanke is a Republican, he has stayed away from politics until his recent position in the White House.
Provided Bernanke is appointed, however, he would be the latest appointment which stemmed directly from within the White House.
Perhaps these are all just coincidences, but it seems just a little too convenient.
