With the economy still in the dumps, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke could find himself out of a job when his term expires at the end of this month. A number of Senators, several of whom are up for re-election themselves in November, have expressed serious reservations about keeping Bernanke in the post.
The shocking win by Republican Scott Brown in Tuesday's special election to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the passing of Ted Kennedy has virtually all incumbent Democrats running scared. The handful who will be defending their seats this fall are likely to vote against him simply to serve notice to their constituents that they definitely "got the message" delivered by Tuesday's vote.
The vote on Bernanke's re-appointment could take place before the Fed meets to vote on whether or not to change interest rate policy on Wednesday, but that is appearing doubtful at the moment. But regardless of when the vote actually takes place, the Chairman is facing a steep uphill battle.