Sherlock; Marlowe; Ace Ventura; me. The common thread? Great detectives, obviously.

Following an extensive Purple State investigation,* I can now exclusively reveal the true motivation for the selection of Ben Bernanke as Fed Chair: the Bush administration has always wondered how it would feel to be praised by Paul Krugman.

Obviously I'm pleased, too. Full disclosure: Mr. Bernanke was chairman of the Princeton economics department before moving to Washington, and he made the job offer that brought me to Princeton.

According to one of my investigators, Bush's first choice was Krugman's mom, but she didn't want the job.

* - Read: no investigation whatsoever.