Bernanke’s reappointment may prove beneficial. He has been badly wounded by all the (justified) criticism directed at him, and will be more closely watched than would an establishment replacement who would foster the same kinds of statist practices. I favored the re-election of Bill Clinton for the same reason: he was so discredited in his first term that he would probably have found it difficult to get a cat-and-dog hospital built in Washington thereafter. As the bumper-sticker on my office window declares: “Pray for Gridlock!”

The Best of Butler Shaffer