Proving, Once Again, that Barack Obama can be Trusted to Do the Right Thing, If He Has No Alternative

He is going to nominate Janet Yellen to the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve:

President Barack Obama will nominate Janet Yellen as chairman of the Federal Reserve, which would put the world’s most powerful central bank in the hands of a key architect of its unprecedented stimulus program and the first female leader in its 100-year history.

Obama will announce the nomination at 3 p.m. today in Washington, a White House official said in an e-mailed statement. Yellen, 67, would succeed Ben S. Bernanke, whose term expires on Jan. 31.

Obama turned to Yellen, vice chairman of the Fed since 2010, after the other leading candidate, former Treasury secretary and White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers, withdrew from consideration amid mounting opposition from Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee.

“She’s an excellent choice, and I believe she’ll be confirmed by a wide margin,” Charles Schumer of New York, the Senate’s No. 3 Democrat, said in a statement. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat, pledged to work “to move her nomination forward in a timely manner,” saying her depth of experience is unmatched.

U.S. index futures climbed, signaling stocks may rebound from the biggest loss since August, and Treasuries rose after the announcement. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.3 percent as of 11:03 a.m. in London, after the U.S. benchmark gauge lost more than 2 percent over the past two days. Five-year Treasury yields fell two basis points.

He REALLY wanted Larry Summers, so I don't expect to see much expenditure of political capital if the Republicans decide to hold up the process.

That being said, I think that the major difference between her and either Bernanke or Summers will be on the regulatory end of things, not the monetary policy end of things.

There is only so far that you can push a string.