Hotline After Dark -- Uncle Ben Out Of Hot Water

"World News" led with post-State of the Union recap and reactions. "Evening News" led with the Toyota recall. "Nightly News" led with post-State of the Union recap and reactions.

Pols weighed in last p.m. on Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's confirmation.

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), on why he voted to confirm Bernanke: "I believe he should lead the Fed, even though he made serious mistakes leading up to the crisis. In the crisis, he prevented a global financial collapse by taking unprecedented action to provide liquidity to the markets. Absent that action, absent the action by this administration and this Congress, I believe we would have been in full-scale rout. We would have had unemployment over 15 percent and increasing" ("Ed Show," MSNBC, 1/28).

Ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney (R), on if Bernanke should have a second term: "I do, but I understand why some people are really hesitant. Ben Bernanke missed the housing bubble. And this is a guy who studied in the past and tried to understand why they occur. This housing bubble was obviously the cause of a great deal of pain for Americans, and he missed it" ("Your World," FNC, 1/28).

Ex-HP CEO Carly Fiorina: "I do think that it is a wise decision that Bernanke was reconfirmed. I think for him to have not been confirmed would create even more chaos in the financial system. ... I think the issue is that it is probably unfair to put all of the frustration and anger with failed economic policies at the feet of Ben Bernanke."

After the jump, more on Bernanke, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) on health care and ex-AK Sarah Palin (R) on the future of the Tea Party movement.

More Fiorinia: "In fact, he did do some yeoman's work from the time he was appointed prior to President Obama to keep credit flowing. I do think banks are a different entity than automobile manufacturers, because they do create the blood flow for the economy. I think the understandable frustration about this president's economic policies, or, frankly, lack thereof, should be at the feet of Tim Geithner and Christina Romer" ("Your World," FNC, 1/28).

SORRY, I DON'T DO FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) went "On the Record" 1/28 p.m.

Snowe, on Obama soliciting health care ideas during the State of the Union: "It is interesting he posed that question, because I had given
a number of ideas in the direction that health care should take, and unfortunately those ideas weren't incorporated. In fact, it went into a
radically different direction since the time I voted for the package in the finance committee."

FNC's Van Susteren: "I think from a spectator on the outside, when the deal was cut with Nebraska and also everyone wakes up to find out why did Nebraska get this deal? And then the meeting at the White House where the unions got the special deal and the small businesses didn't get it with the Cadillac health care plans, that's when it became enormously difficult to sell the American people any further."

Snowe: "That's exactly right. That's what I heard from my constituents. I think that manifested itself in the results of the election in Massachusetts of the new Senator Scott Brown. That's absolutely right, because it wasn't the right way to proceed. They saw these special deals."

More Snowe: "And they were sweetheart deals that eroded the public's confidence, but also creating inequities, pitting states against states and regions upon regions and that really would impose unfair taxes on other taxpayers to really absorb the costs from those states that would be exempted whether from Medicare Advantage policies or from the Medicaid policies, and so on. There's no patience for sitting around a table and trying to work through a number of issues" (FNC, 1/28).

PARTY ON, WAYNE

Ex-AK Gov. Sarah Palin (R) went "On the Record" 1/28 p.m.

Palin, on the Tea Party movement: "I think it's growing because the tea party movement -- in general, speaking here -- it's about the people. It's about the people wanting their voice heard, wanting to be able to speak to Washington, D.C., and say, Hey, here's what we expect from our government."

More Palin: "You're taxing us too much. You're growing too quickly. You're loading up our children and grandchildren with unsustainable debt and that's unfair and immoral and not logical. That is the voice of the people. And that voice of the people is within this group called the tea party movement. That's growing, and it's going to keep growing until Washington, D.C., starts listening."

Palin, on if she'll attend the convention: "Oh, you betcha I'm going to be there. I'm going to speak there because there are people traveling from many miles away to hear what that tea party movement is all about and what that message is that should be received by our politicians in Washington. I'm honored to get to be there."

More Palin: "I won't personally gain from being there. The speaker's fee will go right back into the cause. I'll be able to donate it to people and to events, those things that I believe in that will help perpetuate the message, the message being, Government, you have constitutional limits. You better start abiding by them."

Palin, on if the GOP and Tea Party could splinter: "They need to merge. Definitely, they need to merge. I think those who are wanting the divisions and the divisiveness and the controversy -- those are the ones who don't believe in the message. And they're the ones, I think, stirring it up. We need to ignore that and we need to forge ahead with a cohesive message."

More Palin: "It's a common sense message. It, again, is, Government, limit yourself so that the private sector, our families, free individuals can grow and thrive and prosper and enjoy America's freedom!" (FNC, 1/28).