Federal Reserve Vacancies Spell Opportunity for Obama

The members of the Federal Reserve board may be nameless and faceless to the general public, but the announcement that Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn is retiring opens up a huge opportunity for President Obama, who soon will have three vacancies to fill on the central bank's seven-member body.

The open seats will likely prompt debate over the priorities of the Federal Reserve: whether to pursue monetary policies friendly to job growth or continue on the path as the nation's chief inflation fighter through tinkering with interest rates.

Princeton economics professor Alan S. Blinder said party affiliation doesn't matter when it comes to creating jobs. "Any incumbent president wants to see the economy grow," Blinder told The New York Times. ". . . So, I wouldn't be surprised if the Obama administration is looking for someone more dovish on inflation."

The June departure of Kohn, a 40-year veteran of the Fed, comes with two existing vacancies, and in the aftermath of Obama's successful reappointment in January of Ben S. Bernanke as Fed chairman. Christina D. Romer, chairwoman of the White House Council on Economic Advisers, is among those mentioned as a possible nominee for one of the vacancies, the Times said.

Obama has already named banking law expert Daniel K. Tarullo to the Fed board.