In contrast to its defense of another prominent nomination, the White House has just released an extended description of the process it went through to find a new chairman of the Federal Reserve:

The White House conducted a long, exhaustive search that began in late April. A number of potential nominees were given consideration. White House officials involved in the nominating process included the Vice President, Chief of Staff Andy Card, National Economic Adviser Al Hubbard, Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel Liza Wright, and Chief of Staff to the Vice President Scooter Libby. Chairman Bernanke was not part of the selection committee.
The nominating committee reached out to a number of leading economists in the Academic community, Wall Street executives and other leaders from the business community. Input was sought from Republicans and Democrats alike.
Chairman Greenspan was consulted. He provided significant input on the nature of the job, and the qualifications needed for the position.
The committee interviewed several potential nominees. The initial list of candidates included more than 20 individuals. The President held several meetings with the search team to discuss potential nominees.