« Bailout News CBS 60 Minutes Video: Complete Interview With Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke »
My early reaction is softball. Scott Pelley tries to give the impression he is asking tough questions but rarely does and tonight was no different.
When asked to name the causes of the banking crisis, B-52 never said the word nor made any reference to leverage. He brushed off suggestions that the Federal Reserve was to blame for lack of Wall Street oversight. It was a joke. Mostly gushy PR.
Two segments were devoted to Bernanke, so lack of time was not the problem. There was simply no interest in exploring the difficult issues. Pelley should have asked about Bernanke's horrible record of prognostication on this crisis, instead he smiled as Bernanke offered up more pabulum.
But hey, at least we found out how smart Ben is and now we know his SAT scores. Tough, probing piece, Pelley, you tool. Thanks for looking out for taxpayers.
From CBS 60 Minutes:
"Aside from the president he's the most powerful man working to save the economy, but you have never seen an interview with Ben Bernanke.
Bernanke is the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, better known as the Fed. The words of any Fed chairman cause fortunes to rise and fall and so, by tradition, chairmen of the Fed do not do interviews - that is until now.
The Federal Reserve controls the economy by setting interest rates. But after the crash of 2008, Bernanke invoked emergency powers, and with unprecedented aggressiveness has thrown a trillion dollars at the crisis.
Ben Bernanke may be the most important Fed chairman in history. The question is, can he help lead America out of this deep recession and when?"
Inside, I have the complete transcript and the 2nd video which also runs 13 minutes. I have also now added several doctored photos of Ben and I'm feeling better.
Here is the link to CBS for the full transcript.
Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 9:32PM
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Reader Comments (8)
Lighten up Francis.
Do you mean "pabulum"? What does "pablum" mean? I can't find a definition. Not trying to be a dick. I've just never heard of it before.
thanks for the heads up. and yes I meant pabulum
Where was the mention that the fed is owned by a consortium of private banks?
Where was the inclusion of Fed criticism?
Felt very one-sided to this viewer.