This is a cartoon I made in 2010, but it seems relevant again today.
Clinton did not name anyone in particular when he made this comment, and he may have been thinking about more than one person. When I first read this quote, Larry Summers sprang to mind instantly, given his track record.
My hope is that the recent chatter about Summers as a replacement for Bernanke is merely a trial balloon (launched by whom? Summers himself?), one that deserves to be shot down.
Since a primary purpose of the Fed is to regulate (some people have forgotten that), perhaps it is time to put a regulator in charge. After all, deregulation – which Summers championed – didn’t work out too well.
Perhaps someone in Washington will put two and two together about that one.