The Fed Chairman originally appointed by W Bush, Bernanke, now competes against Pres Obama for causing recent increases in private sector employment.
in a major economic speech today at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed Chairman Bernanke claimed Fed policies (under his leadership) increased private sector employment by 2 million jobs. The full text of the speech can be read at
http://www.federalreserve.gov/...
In the speech Fed Chairman Bernanke said:
For example, a study using the Board's FRB/US model of the economy found that, as of 2012, the first two rounds of LSAPs may have raised the level of output by almost 3 percent and increased private payroll employment by more than 2 million jobs, relative to what otherwise would have occurred
The above was not from answering a question, it is in the prepared speech, so Bernanke fully intended to say these exact words. In the speech, Bernanke does not give any credit to President Obama or his policies for employment gains even as a side comment.
Some financial commentators have already picked this up, so we should expect broader media sources to start picking this up.
Democrats should expect Republicans to use Bernanke's words against President Obama, by saying something like "the limited private sector increases in employment had nothing to do with Pres Obama's stimulus, tax and his other policies but any credit for government action goes to the Fed and Bernanke."
While the Fed and its Chairman are suppose to be non-political, that does not mean they are non-political.