WASHINGTON — Nobody ever said Alan Greenspan would be an easy act to follow.
But Ben S. Bernanke, marking his first anniversary as chairman of the Federal Reserve, is winning Greenspan-like plaudits for deftly steering the U.S. economy toward the promised land of steady growth and moderating inflation.
With President Bush focused on Iraq and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson shepherding most of Bush's domestic agenda, the nation's central banker is now more than ever the chief steward of the U.S. economy.
Bernanke took over from the highly regarded Greenspan a year ago Thursday at a particularly sensitive time, with the expansion that followed the 2001 recession getting long in the tooth and the Fed still raising interest rates to fight inflation.
With a couple of exceptions -- the booming 1960s and the Greenspan era during the 1990s -- such long periods of economic growth and Fed rate hikes usually resulted in recession.
But after 14 rate increases under Greenspan starting in 2004, Bernanke's Fed lifted rates three more times before stopping last summer. The chances of error were high. If Bernanke had stopped tightening too soon, inflation could have reignited. If he kept going too long and overshot, the high rates could have choked economic growth.
"It was not an easy decision," said Robert DiClemente, Citigroup Inc.'s chief U.S. economist.
By most measures, Bernanke got it just right. Now it's hard to find an economist who predicts a recession any time soon. In fact, the economy appears to be getting a second wind, with growth actually picking up again while inflation has declined -- factors that probably are weighing on Bernanke and his Fed colleagues as they conclude a two-day policy meeting today.
"The changes in interest rates were just what the economy needed," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist for Global Insight Inc.
Favorable comments are coming even from those who are usually quick to criticize the Fed for sacrificing economic growth in the interest of controlling inflation.
"I think he's concerned about the extent to which today's prosperity hasn't been widely shared," said Jared Bernstein, an economist with the liberal Economic Policy Institute. "I see a refreshing sympathy for working people."
Bernanke's reviews are just as solid among business advocates. Daniel J. Meckstroth, chief economist for the Manufacturers Alliance, said Bernanke had helped steer the economy to a point similar to where it was in 1995.
