Bernanke to Visit Army Base, as Fed Faces Weak Support
EL PASO, TX. – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will visit an Army base in Texas on Thursday for a financial literacy event with trappings of a campaign stump, as the central bank faces weak support in voter polls and is under attack by politicians on the right and the left.
Among other activities at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Bernanke is scheduled to greet soldiers returning from duty in Iraq and to hold a town hall meeting with Army families. It is Bernanke's first visit to Texas and to an Army base; a Fed historian said he could not recall a Fed chairman ever visiting a military installation.
While officials said the trip was instigated by base commanders, some Fed-watchers think the timing and venue are no coincidence -- the Fed is under attack from two prominent Texas politicians running for the Republican presidential nomination, Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Ron Paul.
In August, Perry suggested Bernanke's push for significant monetary easing to help the economy was "treasonous" and that Bernanke would get an "ugly" reception in Texas. Paul, a libertarian, wants to abolish the Fed altogether.
"It's going right into the belly of the beast," said Stan Collender, a partner with Qorvis Communications in Washington, D.C., who specializes in financial public relations. "Make no doubt about it--this is a political campaign by the Fed to endear itself to voters, to explain itself a little bit further...The Fed has to establish its credentials--or reestablish its credentials--in a way that people understand what it does, appreciate what it does, and understand that it's working for them...(not) just for Wall Street."
A Fed spokesperson declined to comment for the record on any political implications of Bernanke's trip. The Associated Press quoted Fed officials as saying that Ft. Bliss was chosen because it has a successful financial literacy program that Bernanke wants to highlight.
