The American Spectator : Obama Plays Favorites

Text Size

Obama Plays Favorites

By Andrew Cline on 2.12.10 @ 6:08AM

Some even collect big bonuses of which he approves.

On Jan. 28, 2009, just days into the Obama presidency, the New York Times reported that bonuses on Wall Street had totaled an estimated $18.4 billion the year before, the sixth-largest sum on record. The president who had been sworn in only eight days earlier wasted no time condemning the "outrageous" bonuses, proclaiming them "the height of irresponsibility." They were, he said, "shameful."

Almost exactly a year later, on Jan. 29, 2010, Obama again called Wall Street bonuses during a recession "shameful."

"There will be a time for them to make profits, and there will be a time for them to get bonuses," he said. "Now's not that time. And that's a message that I intend to send directly to them."

But a week later, he sent an entirely different message.

Asked by Bloomberg News (of all news organizations) to comment on the $17 million bonus taken by J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and the $9 million bonus of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Obama said he doesn't "begrudge" the men their money.

"I know both those guys; they are very savvy businessmen," he said. "I, like most of the American people, don't begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free-market system."

He went on to explain that, hey, bonuses themselves aren't bad, but they have to be tied to performance and be approved by shareholders.

The obvious reversal from the president's previous rhetoric cannot be chalked up to Scott Brown and the GOP's resurgence. It runs deeper than that.

Obama gave the reason when he said, "I know both those guys." Yes, he does. Blankfein is a major donor to the Democratic Party. He has given more than $100,000 to the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates, Federal Election Commission reports show. Jamie Dimon is a periodic donor, but he gives exclusively to Democrats and is based in Chicago, where he got to know Obama. The New York Times last year proclaimed Dimon "Obama's favorite banker." The quote was from a feature story on Dimon, but the photo atop the story showed two bank CEOs leaving the White House after a meeting. The other? Lloyd Blankfein.

This president, like any politician, plays favorites. In the world of high finance, Dimon and Blankfein are two of his favorite multi-millionaire CEOs. So even though the president is on record multiple times stating that financial industry executives shame themselves when they take bonuses during a recession, he wasn't going to apply that standard to his pals when put on the spot. The rest of Wall Street? They're a bunch of greedy, heartless SOBs. But my buddies and their combined $26 million in bonuses? They're just good capitalists.

Republicans will point out this hypocrisy, as they should. But to call it merely hypocritical is to miss the point. Obama's double standard is the inevitable outcome of the left-wing class warfare he employs to marginalize his opponents and justify his economically damaging policies. The outcome is inevitable because classes are groups of individuals, not simply lines drawn on an income chart. And individuals have ways of defying left-wing predictions of how they will behave based on their wealth and social status. Also, those lines are political conventions, not real-world barriers keeping certain types of people fixed in specific categories.

This isn't even the first instance of Obama getting caught in this predictable tight spot. Remember Joe the Plumber?

In the campaign, Obama had attacked "the rich" repeatedly, saying they sought and received special treatment from Republicans in the form of undeserved tax breaks. The press started asking him to define "rich," and after trying and failing to dodge the question, he finally settled on a figure: $250,000 a year. Make more than that, and you're "rich." Then he bumped into Joe the Plumber, a blue collar guy who said he'd make more than $250,000 a year, and thus be hit by Obama's proposed confiscatory tax rates, if he bought his own plumbing business.

Suddenly, Obama's demonizing of the rich was exposed as the fraud it always had been. His demonization of Wall Street is exactly the same. Bankers and Wall Street investors are easy game when they are an abstract concept. We all just imagine fat white men in pin-striped suits lighting cigars with $100 bills and ordering truckloads of cash delivered to the Republican National Committee, which of course is housed in a twisted castle atop a desolate Romanian hilltop where dark clouds and lightning are the constant backdrop.

But in reality, these men and women are hard-working, intelligent Americans who contribute tremendously to the economic success and vitality of this nation -- and to different political parties. (In the 2008 presidential campaign, Wall Street gave more to Democrats than Republicans.) Some have behaved shamefully. But as a group they are not enemies of the people, which is exactly how Obama has portrayed them. Two of them even happen to be Friends of Barack.

As Obama has accidentally admitted, taking a big bonus during a recession is not shameful. Pitting Americans against each other for purely political purposes is.

topics:
Wall Street, Jamie Dimon, Lloyd Blankfein

About the Author

Andrew Cline is editorial page editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader. His Twitter ID is Drewhampshire.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (24) | Leave a comment

Ret. Marine| 2.12.10 @ 6:54AM

Divide and Conquer, little o seems to have a short memory, or he would like the rest of the serfs to think so. If I am not mistaken, the financial institutions heavily favor the demonrat party. While I am not convinced this pretender has an honest bone in his body, I am convinced that buying favortism has long been a passtime sport of the political class. Playing favorites is a game he learned long ago. If you contribute to the DNC, you are one to garner good speak, reflections of your worthyness to the cause, and deserve a shout-out now and again. Contribute to the Republicans, your just the enemie and not considered for any position because you believe in the Constitution and demand he live by its tenets.
Anyone paying attention to this pretender-n-theif knows by now he works strickly on favors given is a favor paid. I guess in his world the lies are an endless stream of babble, but not easily forgotton of the individuals who seek the truth.
Whatever happened to that transparency thing he spoke of during the campaign trail, it too has been nothing but a lie from the get go. If we expected anything else out of a politician, we would be sadly mistaken. The truth is first and foremost a politician is a person who would promise you the world, steal it from someone else's and claim if is needed for the children. Secondly, you must be able to lie out both sides of your arse, proclaim it raining while he's piss'n on your leg and then tell you it's all in your mind.
This country is being run by individuals who would not have met the begining phase of an interview for a sales-persons job. Personally, I am quite fed-up trying to keep up with the lies, half-truths and the foney baloney mindset of this admin. So I ask, when will the adults return to insure the safety of this Nation's financial security, the defense of this Nations interest, the rule of law and most importently, honest governance? I guess I'm asking too much out of these mere mortals.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 2.12.10 @ 7:00AM

When fat cats receive bonuses, Obama condemns them. When his friends receive bonuses, he finds it appealing. Even Paul Krugman, who is an idiot, couldn't swallow that statement, writing a column in which Krugman maintains Obama is losing it.

The appealing Obama may appear full of contradictions, but in essence, Obama is just a little man who figures he can fool all of the people all of the time.

The only thing obvious at this point is that Obama is a pathological liar who hates mainstream America, unless they can donate and help him get elected.

Obama has lied on just about every subject but many in the MSM continue to support him. Obama's falling poll numbers indicate that Obama's plan of lying to all of the people in an attempt to fool all of the people, is failing.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-.....ere-doomed

Liberal opinion-maker Paul Krugman has become increasingly frustrated with President Obama in recent weeks, judging by some of his posts.

Today, he slams Obama for saying he "doesn't begrudge" executives getting big bonuses.

"[H]ow is it possible, at this late date, for Obama to be this clueless?" he asks.

He continues:

There’s good reason to feel outraged at the growing appearance that we’re running a system of lemon socialism, in which losses are public but gains are private. And at the very least, you would think that Obama would understand the importance of acknowledging public anger over what’s happening.

But no. If the Bloomberg story is to be believed, Obama thinks his key to electoral success is to trumpet “the influence corporate leaders have had on his economic policies.”

Curtis| 2.12.10 @ 7:38AM

The 250K a year statement made many Americans shrug, swearing that they'd never seen or would see that much money. I grew up dirt poor in a single wide and I've seen quadruple that.

My grandpa owned a store. One store, selling appliances. He rented his warehouse space, and ran two appliance trucks and two service vans. My dad fixed appliances, I delivered them when I was a teenager during the summer. Total employment never went above 15 people, that included two part time retirees who were training their replacements. Total annual Gross: approximately 1 million dollars.

My grandpa brought home less money than any of his three refrigeration technicians. My dad joined the national guard to help make ends meet at home, for a family of four. Mom worked at a grocery store, and later a poultry processing plant. She got the factory job so us kids would have dental plans.

In 25 years, I never saw a new car in the drive way, never saw a TV that wasn't bigger then 27 inches, and half my clothes came from my older cousins.

Obama's 250 figure pulled from the sky is quite nice for any employee who's driving a company truck or working the company floor, or even working a hospital floor or laboratory. But if you want to own any of it, forget it. You might come in under 250K running an internet business from your home selling shirts or nicknacks on Ebay. But otherwise the intent and effect is clear. Know your role, stay where you are, employed by a large corporation who pays dues to the politicos in charge.

of course there are cutouts and loopholes for the right people, education administrators and civil servants making scads of cash, the right social class who has a tendency to lean the left way, but otherwise you're hosed.

martin j smith| 2.12.10 @ 7:44AM

There are ample opportunities in the 2010 and 2012 elections to attack Obama and his merry band on grounds that are similar populist rhetoric as the Dems used. Except this time is a glaring example of crony capitalism and adjunct to fascism. In the campaign there two directly related ideas to be shown: One the contempt that Obama has for the people and two the use of reward as the opposite of punishment for those who toe the party line. Put simply: Do American voters want a dictator for President who is destroying their livelihood ? That could be the central issue in the campaign.

Copyleft| 2.12.10 @ 8:05AM

Does anyone still claim, with a straight face, that Obama is "socialist and anti-capitalist"?

Even AFTER he's continued Bush's program of bailouts, and protecting executive bonuses, AND bending over backwards to do more favors for CEOs and Wall Street?

Please. He's every bit as much of a tool of special-interest money as all the others--Bush, Clinton, Bush Sr.., etc.--have been.

People screaming about how "leftist" he is have no clue what they're talking about. If Obama WERE a leftist, we'd be a lot better off!

Troll Watch| 2.12.10 @ 10:07AM

"Does anyone still claim, with a straight face, that Obama is "socialist and anti-capitalist"? "

Well yes. Like all good leftists he takes from the rich and gives to his friends. It always works the same way. He shakes down the productive. They do pay him of course but it is not for favors but to be left alone. For a better understanding watch Soprano re-runs. Copyleft is either a clueless cheerleader or one of Obama's friends that wants to keep the gravy flowing. I am thinking the cheerleader by the way. The rhetoric the left uses is phony. Whether Stalin, Mao, Castro, Chavez or Obama, they make of lots of impossible promises and then enrich their pals. It works this way in Sweden, Cuba, Venezuela or you name the leftist country. Actually when you think of it Copyleft is the tool.

Copyleft| 2.12.10 @ 10:40AM

Interesting claim... can you point to any circumstance where Obama has "taken from the rich"? I haven't seen one yet.

Al Adab| 2.12.10 @ 12:28PM

Copyleft:

See today's NYT and below.

Troll Watch| 2.12.10 @ 3:06PM

Here is a little history.

Michelle Obama's salary 2004 - $120,000

Obama elected Senate 2004

Michelle Obama's salary 2005 - $317,000

Senator Obama requests 2006 $1,000,o00
earmark for hospital

Michelle's new job didn't exist before she was promoted and disappeared after she left. This has the look of a kick back. The taxpayer gave and he received. Go look and see who pays the lion share of these taxes. Stop being a tool. There is more. Don't hide your head in the sand.

Copyleft| 2.12.10 @ 3:15PM

Still waiting for anything Pres. Obama has done that "takes from the rich" as you confidently assert....

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 2.12.10 @ 5:32PM

It's a simple concept and that's why you'll deny it. He had Congress fork over 768 billion and most of it has been wasted in political payoffs or stupid plans based on liberal ideology. In a sense he's robbed from us all, but since the top income brackets are the only ones who pay taxes , there's your example, and it's a fact.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 2.12.10 @ 5:32PM

Baloney Guy| 2.12.10 @ 5:43PM

Here's a good clip on how Obama is going to steal from everyone to follow is socialist agenda. King Scammer!

President Obama has made it all but official -- better forget his 2008 presidential campaign promise to avoid raising taxes on households making less than $250,000 and individuals making less than $200,000. In an interview with Bloomberg News concerning his proposal for a bipartisan presidential commission on the federal budget, the chief executive said: "The whole point of it is to make sure that all ideas are on the table. So what I want to do is to be completely agnostic, in terms of solutions." To further clarify that he was talking about across-the-productive-board tax increases, Obama added this observation: "The real problem has to do with the fact that there is just a mismatch between the amount of money coming in and the amount of money going out. And that is going to require some big, tough choices that, so far, the political system has been unable to deal with."

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer......z0fMeDAmY4

billg| 2.14.10 @ 12:42AM

Uh, by maybe increasing income taxes on them this fall, increasing taxes on capital gains, health reform taxes on them and businesses, millionaires taxes.....

bluecollarbytes| 2.12.10 @ 9:25AM

Copyleft, you've Left out the corruption that goes hand in hand with any element of socialism in practice.

Human Corruption crosses all ideologies, even Obama's extreme Leftist core. His corruption is one thing, his un-American beliefs another.

Al Adab| 2.12.10 @ 10:46AM

The NYT this morning reposrts that Barzil is developing, under the Brazilian-American oil company, a new oil field off its coast. The American government, NYT reports, purchased a couple billion dollars of B-A oil company bonds. Problem is according to the story George Soros is primary owner of B-A oil.

If true it seems to represent another payoff to supporters of this administration with taxpayer money. How corrupt can we become before something in fact changes?

Stephanie| 2.12.10 @ 11:08AM

'how corrupt can we become before something in fact changes?"

Oh please don't ask that question! It can always get worse.
My question is, when will the American people get to the point where they have had enough of the corruption and rise up and DEMAND honesty, integrety and for a government that works for the people, not the other way around.

Al Adab| 2.12.10 @ 2:31PM

Truely terrifying to consider isn't it Stephanie?

martin j smith| 2.12.10 @ 1:40PM

Obama plays the game of crony capitalism. This not capitalism it is fascism which could lead to total takeover which means communism. This not with a straight face, it with a face that has an understanding of the reasons for Obama's behavior.
His associations do matter. Obama's behavior is there far all who want to see. Those who do not well too bad for them. His "favoritism" is merely a tactic: Play with me and you will be safe. The problem, is when you play with Obama, there is absolutely no gaurentee that what he agrees to do will be done. Any Company or ther entity are merely toys to play with and when he deos not need them, well he will takes them over. Perhaps those who make deals with the devil so speak take their chances. Maybe in the depths of their minds they hope Obama and the Democrat Party and Obama are defeated. Then again I would not make deals with Cronies either for those who make deals with the devil are devils themselves.