Speaking of the media, anyone else get nervous when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks?
He’s getting better at it, but when the Fed chairman speaks — at a time when the country is mired in a spiraling recession — his every word is subject to instant analysis and parsing. And that reality — as markets founder on fear — is underscored by the superimposed Dow box ticking away as he speaks.
And while I wouldn’t want our Fed chairman to be under wraps and not publicly accountable for Fed policy and expert analysis, I’d be really, really prudent about the venues.
Capitol Hill is a given. And a necessity.
But I admit to cringing when I see him taking questions at the National Press Club in Washington. It’s not just the possibility of an ill-timed facial tic or the inadvertent verbalization of unintended policy nuance. It’s facing — all too often — preening journalists too enamored of their gotcha questions.
That journalistic approach can work wonderfully well with the usual disingenuous, political suspects. They deserve each other.
But I really don’t want a thrust and parry with the Fed chief right now.