(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY JIM FLINK

ANCHOR  CHRISTINA HARTMAN

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke isn’t pulling any punches in testimony before Congress.  He says the U.S. economy is close to faltering.  One wrong move, it could bust.  MSNBC has Bernanke’s comments, which some analysts say, appears to turn the tables on his Congressional inquisitors.

BERNANKE: “Unfortunately the brinksmanship of the summer, and the perception in the minds of some investors that the United States might actively consider defaulting on its debt, and moreover that this might be recurring periodically was a negative for the financial markets. It’s no way to run a railroad, if I might say so.”

Bernanke has himself been the target of much Congressional ire.

Congress has blamed him for not doing enough - or too much - to stimulate the stagnation.

The Hill notes, that continued even today.

“As Bernanke pressured Congress to act, the Fed was the subject of a partisan tug of war.  Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) chided Republicans for pressuring the Fed... But the vice chairman of the panel, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said the Fed needed to refine its focus, and that he would be introducing legislation to reduce the Fed’s mandate so it focuses only on inflation, not on maximizing employment as well.”

The markets dropped 200 points before the Fed Chief’s comments and rebounded after them.

So is Wall Street happy?

The Wall Street Journal says Bernanke is walking a fine line.

“So part of what he’s doing here is saying, look the economy sucks, I’ve done a lot of stuff. Monetary policy is not a panacea.  I could use a little of help from you guys.  And that help is, settle down the long term debt problem by coming up with a plan, and please don’t cut spending too quickly now, and screw up an already fragile economy.”

The blog Uncommon Wisdom calls this another serving of “Bernanke Baloney.”

 “The only non-garbage that came out of his mouth was that our economy is ‘close to faltering.’”

And those in the blame Bernanke camp note, he didn’t rule out a QE3 to Congress today.

Because of that, The Cleveland Plain Dealer says - move along - nothing to see here.

“Bernanke's willingness to stick his neck out does not impress me. If his next stimulus is a success, he will be considered a genius, able to retire handsomely, with full benefits, and write a number of books on our economy. But what if he fails? The only thing he would give up is being called a genius. What exactly has he put on the line here?”