By all accounts, President Bush has hit a home run with his nomination of Ben Bernanke to become the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, the most important economic post in the United States and indeed one of the most important economic policy jobs in the world.

Bernanke has impeccable academic credentials for the job. He was a professor of economics at Stanford and Princeton (where he chaired the department), and has published and spoken widely on economic and monetary matters.

He served as a Fed governor between 2002 and 2005, and most recently has served Bush as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

But Bernanke is not closely associated with Bush's supply-side and tax-cutting policies, a distinct advantage at the Fed where tough-minded independence is the goal.

He says he intends to hew to the strong anti-inflation platform of the departing chairman, Alan Greenspan. If anything, he might be more specific and focused than the legendarily opaque Greenspan: He has written extensively on the idea that the Fed should set specific "targets" for inflation, around 1 to 2 percent.

Based on his academic training, interests, independence and experience, Bernanke appears to be an ideal choice to succeed Greenspan, whose shoes would be difficult to fill by any appointee. He deserves swift confirmation.