Two more Democratic Senators defected today, leaving Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s chances of being re-confirmed before his term ends less than a sure thing.

If Mr Bernanke isn’t confirmed by January 31, it’s unclear what will happen, but a likely outcome is that Donald Kohn (hardly more a populist champion of Main Street than Mr Bernanke) will step in as interim chair until Mr Bernanke (or another candidate) is confirmed by the Senate. Certainly Mr Kohn’s assent to Fed chair can’t be the goal of Mr Bernanke’s critics. So are they pushing the president to nominate someone else for the Fed chair? Are they even pushing Mr Obama to nominate candidates who represent a “clean break from the failed policies of the past” for the long-open seats on the Fed’s board of governors?

If so, they’re not doing so publicly.

And if the goal is to move the Fed in a new direction, why not? Read more