If the economy falters, as it increasingly looks as if it will, it would undercut one of the few positive developments President Bush and the Republican candidates have been able to cite in appealing to the public to keep the White House in conservative hands. A sharp rise in home foreclosures and a fall in home prices would also hurt, reinforcing the Democratic argument that Republican policies help the rich while leaving the middle class less secure and the poor worse off. Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke
