NYT reports that Wall Street bigs have decided to be stingy to the Democratic Party, staying away from a big fundraiser scheduled for tonight in Manhattan. This, after all Team Obama has done for them? Tsk, tsk. From the Times:
Part of the reason, several Democratic fund-raisers and executives said, is a fear of getting caught in the public rage over the perception that Wall Street titans profiting from their government bailout may use their winnings to give back to Washington in return. And the timing of the event, as the industry lobbies against proposals for tighter regulations to address the underlying causes of last year's meltdown on Wall Street, has only added to the worry over public appearances."There are sensitivities there," said Scott Talbot, a lobbyist for the industry's Financial Services Roundtable. Political contributions "can make a donor a target," Mr. Talbot said. Many involved, though, say the low attendance from those Wall Street giants also reflected a broader disenchantment with Mr. Obama over the angry language emanating from the White House over the million-dollar bonuses and anti-regulatory lobbying.
"There is some failure in the finance industry to appreciate the level of public antagonism toward whatever Wall Street symbolizes," said Orin Kramer, a partner in an investment firm who is a Democratic fund-raiser and one of the event's chairmen. "But in order to save the capitalist system, the administration has to be responsive to the public mood, and that is a nuance which can get lost on Wall Street."
Dr. Daniel E. Fass, another chairman of the event who lives surrounded by financiers in Greenwich, Conn., said: "The investment community feels very put-upon. They feel there is no reason why they shouldn't earn $1 million to $200 million a year, and they don't want to be held responsible for the global financial meltdown." Dr. Fass added, "How much that will be reflected in their support for the president remains to be seen."
It would be nice if Obama weren't flying to Manhattan to receive whorish tribute from the same people he ought to be fighting and disciplining on behalf of the common good and the future of our capitalist system. It would also be nice if I won the lottery, lost 20 pounds and could speak fluent French without really trying. They're making a fool of Obama, and he's willing to be made a fool of. Will he ever wake up and realize that these people are not on his side, and indeed not on anybody's side but their own?
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Your blog constatntly hangs up my computer with what my browser describes as unresponsive scripts.
Grumpy Old Man - you should try a different browser. It's my guess that you're using Internet Explorer, which is notorious for that.
ON TOPIC: Our system is not true capitalism. It hasn't been for quite some while. If it were, many more people would be without homes and food. Those of us who are unemployed wouldn't be getting checks. Our system is greatly flawed thanks to those in charge. :-\
Not only was TR better-versed in what was seen as important in flyover country, due to his ability to mix with -- and win fights with -- his cowboy buddies in NoDak, not to mention an apparent lack of race prejudice, but he had enough family money to be able to thumb his nose at selected big business.
Which is a long-winded way of saying we need a good old-fashioned round of trust-busting.
Dan Berger, @ 11:44 AM, writes:
"Not only was TR better-versed in what was seen as important in flyover country, due to his ability to mix with -- and win fights with -- his cowboy buddies in NoDak, not to mention an apparent lack of race prejudice, but he had enough family money to be able to thumb his nose at selected big business.
Which is a long-winded way of saying we need a good old-fashioned round of trust-busting."
Fair enough. We can start with the biggest "trust" of the bunch: the United States government, provincial subsidiaries and all.
Your servant,
Lord Karth
"...In order to save capitalism, the administration has to..."
The Obama administration WANTS to save capitalism....?
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