Clinton: Obama right on Bernanke

Former President Bill Clinton tells reporters in Davos that Obama was right to reappoint Ben Bernanke as head of the Federal Reserve. Here’s a transcript of the interview with Clinton, via Forbes:

“To tell you the truth, I have been so caught up in this Haiti job that I have for the U.N. that I have not studied his [Obama’s] proposals, and I can’t comment. I will say this: I think he is right to reappoint Mr. Bernanke, for two reasons. One is that I think since this crisis occurred in September of 2008, Bernanke’s decisions have been very good, they have kept the American economy going and given us a chance to heal. Secondly, he said something that is very important to say, that the crisis occurred because regulation in the past had been too lax. So I think the beginning is to confirm him and reward both his acknowledgment of the past lax regulation and his service since the financial meltdown…

“Now, so what we have to do, what Congress has to do, what the financial community needs to do is not to deny that we need more effective regulation. If they don’t like the specifics that the president has proposed, they ought to say what they are for, but we shouldn’t have any more shams. And we shouldn’t say that things are off-limits that shouldn’t be. I applaud the fact that the president and Congress are trying to deal with this. I can’t offer you an opinion because I’ve hardly slept since the earthquake in Haiti and I would be giving you an uninformed opinion.”

Here’s video of the interview.

• Jan 29, 2010 6:50 AM — Dirk Mathison
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