Bernanke prospects brighten

WASHINGTON (AP) — Support for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s confirmation for a second four-year term mounted Monday as the White House appeared to stanch opposition that had roiled the financial markets.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., expects a vote by the end of the week, his spokesman said Monday. And David Axelrod, a top adviser to President Barack Obama, said Bernanke has the votes to keep his job.

The stock market, which had skidded late last week, gained about 24 points Monday as Bernanke’s prospects brightened.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, joined Democratic Sens. Max Baucus of Montana, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Dianne Feinstein of California in announcing support for Bernanke’s reappointment.

“Facing circumstances not seen since the Great Depression, he made a number of critical decisions that brought us back from the brink of economic disaster,” Baucus said.

Bipartisan opposition had been fueled by growing public anger over the economy in general and over bank bailouts in particular. Bernanke, working with the Bush administration and then with President Barack Obama, has expanded the Fed’s balance sheet to help banks through the crisis, which peaked in the fall of 2008.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who had indicated he was leaning against Bernanke, formally announced his opposition to the Fed chairman on Monday.

But the momentum was moving in Bernanke’s favor.

“To blame one man for the financial implosion is simply wrong,” Feinstein said. “Ben Bernanke has been helpful to the recovery and, for reasons of stability and continuity, should be reconfirmed.”