Rick Perry's tough words for Ben Bernanke Monday weren't just idle talk. By going after the Federal Reserve, he immediately brings to the forefront one of the few major policy distinctions between him and Mitt Romney.
A successful investor who is well-versed in monetary policy, Romney has been extremely wary about joining in on the Republican party's populist revolt against the Federal Reserve over the last two years. Perry, by contrast, is clearly all too happy to ride the anti-Fed tide, perhaps making a play for some of the Bernanke haters more naturally drawn to Ron Paul.
As recently as April of this year, well after Tea Partiers had taken to vilifying Bernanke as the face of the 2008 bailout, Romney defended the Fed Chair in an interview with CNBC's Larry Kudlow after being repeatedly pressed to criticize him for "depreciating the dollar."
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