Greenspan-ing The Decades

President Gerald Ford congratulates Alan Greenspan at the White House in a file photo from Sept. 4, 1974, after Greenspan was sworn in as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Rose Goldsmith, Greenspan's mother, stands at right.

Alan Greenspan is shown during a session before the House Joint Economic Committee in a Washington, D.C., file photo from July 23, 1975.

President George H.W. Bush, right, escorts Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan into the White House briefing room in Washington, D.C., July 10, 1991. President Bush announced his intention to re-appoint Greenspan to a second term as chairman.

President Bill Clinton introduces Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan to Chinese President Jiang Zemin during a state dinner at the White House in the Chinese president's honor on Oct. 29, 1997.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan testifies before the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., July 16, 2002.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan takes his seat before the start of a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Feb. 16, 2005.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan testifies before the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill on July 21, 2005.

In this photo taken Oct. 24, 2005 in the Oval Office at the White House, President George W. Bush names his top economic adviser, Ben Bernanke, right, to become the new chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, replacing the near-legendary Alan Greenspan, left.

On his last day as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Alan Greenspan presides over his final Federal Open Market Committee meeting at the Fed's headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006. Greenspan has held the post for more than 18 years and is widely viewed as the most successful chairman in the Fed's 92-year history

On his last day as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Alan Greenspan presides over his final Federal Open Market Committee meeting at the the Fed's headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006. The Fed marked Greenspan's final day as central bank with another increase in short-term interest rates.