I have been reading the excellent 'In Fed We Trust' and was struck to discover that a Cornellian almost became the Chairman of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors: Friedman, of course, is none other than Stephen Friedman '55, former chairman of Goldman Sachs and director of the National Economic Council in W.'s White House. He also built the nation's only stand-alone collegiate wrestling center. Frankly, though, this Cornellian is glad that we ended up with the world's preeminent scholar of the Great Depression instead.In the end, Bernake wasn't the unanimous first choice of the committee. He had the intellect and the credentials as well as the respect of his peers, but he seemed, as he often did, nervous in the interviews and had never been tested in a crisis. Friedman had a great interview but would have been a surprise, out-of-the-box choice, and the White House had just seen an out-of-the-box choice for the Supreme Court - White House counsel Hariet Miers - turn into an embarrassment. The committee eventually coalesced around Bernake and recommeneded him to Bush. (83)
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