In the summer of 2009, with the economy badly wounded and the nation’s financial distress still a vivid memory, President Obama’s closet aides began a vital discussion about who he would nominate to run the Federal Reserve, Reuters writes. 

Four years later, continuity will again be a big factor as the White House begins to think about who should succeed Bernanke if, as widely expected, he steps down when his second term as chairman expires at the end of January.