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With health care languishing, Obama was likely as well to run into heavy Republican opposition as he turns up the verbal heat on America's big banks and financial institutions, calling for legislation that would clamp off moves to grow even larger. He has spoken of federal fees on transactions by those banks that have taken government assistance and are once again showing massive profits and paying outsized bonuses. Obama is moving in that direction even as opposition grows in the Senate to his nomination of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second term. Officials in the White House and Senate, however, predicted that Bernanke would be confirmed for a new four-year term. Gibbs said Bernanke was needed to ensure stability in the financial system and warned lawmakers against "playing politics in any way" that would send a negative message to financial markets.
Jarrett said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had assured Obama that Bernanke had strong support among Democrats, and McConnell said he anticipated bipartisan confirmation, although he would not say how he planned to vote. Bernanke, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, is widely credited with helping to prevent the recession from turning into a depression. But his support of Wall Street bailouts has angered the public. Obama called Senate allies on Saturday to make his case for Bernanke, whose term ends Jan. 31. The Senate is scheduled to vote on Bernanke by week's end. Gibbs spoke on "Fox News Sunday" while Axelrod appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" and ABC's "This Week." Jarrett and McConnell spoke on NBC's "Meet the Press."
[Associated
Press;
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