Is The Federal Reserve Political?

Why would anyone want to weaken the economy? ... Texas Gov. Rick Perry got a lot of blowback for his threat to get "ugly" on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, but the Republican presidential front-runner largely got away with his more serious charge that the Fed was "playing politics" with the economy. Perry insinuated that by "printing money," Bernanke was trying to give the economy a short-term fix in order to help President Barack Obama get re-elected next year. Perry called that "almost treasonous." Does Perry's accusation ring true? Is the Fed political? Does it use its influence over the economy to favor one party over the other? – MarketWatch