Will the Fed's strikeout be its final at bat, or shall fans of the American economy be burdened by this monetary John Gochnaur (the worst player in major league baseball history) for another century? Even though the Ty Cobb (arguably the best batter ever) of monetary systems, the Gold Standard, stands ready to pinch hit?

Remember, the Fed does not just try to control the macroeconomy, it tries to control it within political constraints. Recent events have exploded any notion that it is an enterprise independent of government, led by sophisticated technocrats just trying to find the right tradeoff between output and inflation. To some extent, it botches its job out of incompetence, like Gochnaur. To some extent, though, it puts its own interests ahead of those of the American people.