Peter Diamond withdraws his name

His statement is here.  There should be no doubt about Diamond’s qualifications as an economist, but oddly his parting statement makes him sound less qualified as a Fed candidate rather than more qualified.  It is not so much the case that further analytical expertise is needed, which is what Diamond seems to suggest.  What is needed is someone who can help push some fairly simple and already well-understood ideas through Congress.  Was Diamond that person?  From a distance it’s hard to say, and of course “parting shots” are strategic in their own right.  Still, the piece seems overly focused on technocratic issues and it is not obvious that he is the ideal ambassador to, say, Ron Paul.  In other words, there is a reasonable chance that this not unexpected development is a blessing in disguise.

For the pointer I thank Jeffrey Deutsch.