White House confident Senate will OK Bernanke

WASHINGTON: White House officials are confident the Senate will confirm Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a second term.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says a new four-year term for the central bank head is needed to ensure stability in the financial system.

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 as the country struggles with double-digit unemployment and soaring home foreclosures.

Gibbs tells ``Fox News Sunday'' that lawmakers would send a bad message to financial markets by ``playing politics in any way'' with Bernanke's nomination.

President Barack 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.