Announcing that Ben Bernanke will stay at the helm, President Obama today also defended his economic policies just minutes before the Office and Management and Budget releases a mid-session budget review that raises the projected deficit forecast to $9 trillion over 10 years.

"The actions we have taken to stabilize our financial system, repair our credit markets, restructure our auto industry, and pass a recovery package have all been steps of necessity, not choice," he said. "They have faced plenty of critics, some of whom argued that we should stay the course or do nothing at all. But taken together, this 'bold, persistent experimentation' has brought our economy back from the brink. They are steps that are working."

Obama noted that Bernanke was an expert in the Great Depression who probably "never imagined that he would be part of a team responsible for preventing another." "But because of his background, his temperament, his courage, and his creativity, that's exactly what he has helped to achieve. And that is why I am re-appointing him to another term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve," he continued.

Obama interrupted his vacation to make the announcement, speaking to reporters in a suit but no tie at a local school on Martha's Vineyard. He did not take questions on any of the other stories that sprang up yesterday, especially the new interrogation practices.

Though the president apologized for breaking a promised no-news week, it seems they may have anticipated he would speak to the press at some point. The White House brought with them to Martha's Vineyard the president's teleprompter.