A bald man with a gray beard and tired eyes is sitting in his oversize Washington office, talking about the economy. He doesn't have a commanding presence. He isn't a mesmerizing speaker. He has none of the look-at-me swagger or listen-to-me charisma so common among men with oversize Washington offices. His arguments aren't partisan or ideological; they're methodical, grounded in data and the latest academic literature. When he doesn't know something, he doesn't bluster or bluff. He's professorial, which makes sense, because he spent most of his career as a professor.

He is not, in other words, a typical Beltway power broker. He's shy. He doesn't do the D.C. dinner-party circuit; he prefers to eat at home with his wife, who still makes him do the dishes and take out the trash. Then they do crosswords or read. Because Ben Bernanke is a nerd.

He just happens to be the most powerful nerd on the planet.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Economics, Politics • Economy • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007-- • The U.S. Government • Federal Reserve

1. Intercessor wrote: Gee why not throw in a Nobel Peace prize as well or Dodger Tickets? Time Man Of The Year used to mean something but you can see that I have dated myself already in this sentence. Intercessor December 16, 5:47 pm | [comment link]

2. Br_er Rabbit wrote: Dodger Tickets? You mean the Bums? .....(skitters back into the briar patch) December 16, 5:55 pm | [comment link]

3. azusa wrote: Time? Is that still published? I thought it was going the way of News-weak. December 17, 2:36 am | [comment link]

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