Buy the egg, but not the farm

Looks like George W. Bush got one right.

The recent nomination of Ben Bernanke by President Bush to succeed Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board appears, by all indications, to be an excellent nomination.

Bernanke is highly respected and regarded by his peers and his qualifications in the field of economics are extraordinary. While currently part of the Bush Administration, he is not a Bush "crony" - i.e., he is not an old friend, but rather a qualified member of the current Federal Reserve Board.

Has our president secretly learned something from the Harriet Miers debacle? Is this just a lucky coincidence?

Or, is Karl Rove still making magic?

More precisely: is this nomination, coming an extremely unusual three months prior to the end of Mr. Greenspan's term, a political strategy to "prove" that Mr. Bush does in fact know what he's doing in his nominations - and therefore by association send a message to his conservative doubters that maybe he does know what he's doing with regards to Harriet Miers?

Is it a coincidence that this is happening just as the debate on Miers has hit an all-time high? Is it a coincidence that the timing of this announcement comes well before an announcement on Greenspan's successor was expected?

One thing about politics, nothing is ever a coincidence.

My advice to our elected officials in Washington: feel free to buy the advertised product, but don't let it make you a salesman for the company. In other words, regardless of the reasons, confirm Ben Bernanke - he seems to be the real deal. But don't buy the hype and make his nomination in any way influence your decision about the confirmation of Harriet Miers.

Hype is hype. And one right does not make the wrongs any better.