New Delhi, June 19 -- Rookie US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivered on his most important task at Wednesday's interest rate decision: He showed the American public that he was not some stooge willing to kowtow to the president who nominated him and has long demanded easier monetary policy. These are still early days, but that is an encouraging sign.

Speaking after holding rates steady at 3.5%-3.75%, Warsh repeatedly asserted his goal of getting inflation back to the Fed's 2% target. "The commitment to deliver is strong, unanimous and unambiguous," he said in response to a reporter's question. "And that's, I think, an important message. We missed for five years, and we're going to fix that."

Although he also used the press confer...