Chairman Bernanke Goes Up the Hill

Ben Bernanke slipped into the House Financial Service Committee's hearing room from behind the dais. He quietly made the rounds, chatting briefly with several lawmakers. Then he took the central seat at the long witness table, and it was clear: For the first time in 18 years, someone other than Alan Greenspan was going to convey the Federal Reserve's viewpoint on the U.S. and global economies to Congress.

In his first public performance as Fed chairman, Bernanke hit all his marks and achieved modest goals. He didn't say anything that would upset the markets, and he delivered the Fed's message as well as -- or even better than -- Greenspan. Comparison between Bernanke and the long-time maestro of monetary policy are inevitable. But the new Fed chief used the three-hour hearing to start carving out a style of his own (see BW Online, 2/16/06, "Bernanke's Washington Honeymoon").