Big Ben

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, son of a pharmacist and teacher from Dillon, South Carolina, was a superstar tonight on "60 Minutes," calm, down to earth, reassuring, and quietly inspiring. This is what I've been waiting for the President to say:

I'd just like to say to the American people is that I have every confidence that this economy will recover, and recover in a strong and sustained way. The American people are among the most productive in the world. We have the best technologies. We have great universities. We have entrepreneurs. I just have every confidence that as we get through this crisis, that our economy will begin to grow again, and it will remain the most powerful and dynamic economy in the world.

Scott Simon said he'd been trying to bag Bernanke for a year. No Fed chairman had ever done a TV interview before. I wonder if the second most powerful economic actor in the U.S. broke precedent and spoke up because he felt, until last week, No. 1 had been talking the economy down.