30-Jan (The Wall Street Journal) — Ben Bernanke got a unanimous vote Wednesday at the last meeting on his watch of the Federal Reserve’s policy committee, but the U.S. public is a lot more split as he leaves office after eight years as chairman.
About 40% approve of the way Mr. Bernanke has handled his job as chairman, versus 35% who disapprove and 25% who have no opinion, according to a Gallup poll of 1,020 adults taken Jan. 25-26 with a 4% margin of error.
His predecessor, Alan Greenspan, was more popular when he stepped down in 2006: 65% approved of his work, 21% disapproved and 14% didn’t have an opinion.
Democrats, Republicans and independents all liked Mr. Greenspan in 2006. This time around, Gallup found, opinions of Mr. Bernanke split along party lines: Democrats approve of him, Republicans don’t and independents are divided. Households making $90,000 or more a year tend to approve of the job Mr. Bernanke’s done, 54% to 35%, while lower-income families are more even equally divided on his performance.
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