Perhaps it is not strange that Ben Bernanke had more trouble winning a second term than any previous chairman of the Federal Reserve. The Fed was at the center of the financial storm that swept the country—both in terms of producing it and responding to it—and its actions were, and remain, controversial.

Still, 70 senators perceived the bottom line of this issue clearly enough to vote in favor of a second term: The economy survived. In late 2008 and early 2009, it was not at all clear that it would. The country had not simply fallen into a recession, but into a dark financial pit in which the economic infrastructure, itself—mainly lending by banks—wasn’t working. It was bad enough that some observers feared that unemployment could spike to 25 percent, a figure familiar to anyone who has studied the Great Depression.

From the relative safety of a working, if weak, economy and a jobless rate of “only” 10 percent, many critics are failing to see the critical role Bernanke played in stabilizing banks and rescuing the economy. That’s the main reason that Bernanke deserved a second term. His efforts, however flawed they may have been, worked. His critics would slam a fire department for getting things too wet even as it saved the neighborhood.

Certainly, the Fed is not without its flaws. Its fingerprints are on the meltdown that caused the crisis, but then, so are the fingerprints of Congress and presidential administrations. So are the mortgage lenders—and buyers—who negotiated subprime mortgages that led the economy to the brink. Bernanke was one of thefew— Presidents George W. Bush and Obama are two others—who helped to pull it back.

What is more, some of the Fed’s missteps in rescuing the economy have to be considered in the context of a rapidly deteriorating fiscal environment. Bernanke and others had to act without a lot of time for reflection and review. They had to save the neighborhood.

Bernanke will face a difficult second term. His loss of political support will make him a target for Congress, some of whose members want to impose new restrictions on the Fed, which is meant to be shielded from politics. And as the economy improves, the Fed will begin to raise interest rates, which will cause his popularity to sink even further on Capitol Hill.

That’s for the coming months and year, though. For the moment, it’s enough to feel relief that Congress gave Bernanke a new term, and thus avoided roiling the markets with the financially unsettling prospect of choosing a new chairman.