Obama keeps Bernanke Federal Reserve chairman for 2nd term

President Barack Obama has announced he wants Ben Bernanke to get a second four-year term as head of the Federal Reserve, praising his “calm and wisdom” in the face of a near-financial collapse.

Standing alongside Bernanke for the statement on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Obama said the country is “a long way away” from a complete economic recovery.

But the vacationing president also said the 55-year-old Bernanke tackled the crisis “with bold action and outside-the-box thinking” that helped limit the damage.

Bernanke succeeded Alan Greenspan as head of the country’s leading agency on monetary policy, and his nomination to another term is subject to Senate confirmation.