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The Spectacle Blog

Hedge Fund Manager Blasts the Dear Leader

By Matthew Vadum on 5.6.09 @ 7:05PM

One of the eeeeevil "speculators" that President Obama has been vilifying sent out an open letter to the president which has been circulating around Wall Street.

The New York Times published the letter from hedge fund manager Clifford S. Asness of AQR Capital Management, LLC. Asness indicates that his "company is not involved in the Chrysler situation."

The final paragraphs of the letter are priceless:

Let's quickly review a few side issues.

The President's attempted diktat takes money from bondholders and gives it to a labor union that delivers money and votes for him. Why is he not calling on his party to "sacrifice" some campaign contributions, and votes, for the greater good? Shaking down lenders for the benefit of political donors is recycled corruption and abuse of power.

Let's also mention only in passing the irony of this same President begging hedge funds to borrow more to purchase other troubled securities. That he expects them to do so when he has already shown what happens if they ask for their money to be repaid fairly would be amusing if not so dangerous. That hedge funds might not participate in these programs because of fear of getting sucked into some toxic demagoguery that ends in arbitrary punishment for trying to work with the Treasury is distressing. Some useful programs, like those designed to help finance consumer loans, won't work because of this irresponsible hectoring.

Last but not least, the President screaming that the hedge funds are looking for an unjustified taxpayer-funded bailout is the big lie writ large. Find me a hedge fund that has been bailed out. Find me a hedge fund, even a failed one, that has asked for one. In fact, it was only because hedge funds have not taken government funds that they could stand up to this bullying.

The TARP recipients had no choice but to go along. The hedge funds were singled out only because they are unpopular, not because they behaved any differently from any other ethical manager of other people's money. The President's comments here are backwards and libelous. Yet, somehow I don't think the hedge funds will be following ACORN's lead and trucking in a bunch of paid professional protesters soon. Hedge funds really need a community organizer.

This is America. We have a free enterprise system that has worked spectacularly for us for two hundred-plus years. When it fails it fixes itself. Most importantly, it is not an owned lackey of the Oval Office to be scolded for disobedience by the President.

I am ready for my "personalized" tax rate now.

View all comments (8) | Leave a comment

J.J. Jameson| 5.6.09 @ 9:27PM

This guy has got some huge balls.

CS Lewis| 5.6.09 @ 10:17PM

Some people have balls - others have acorns. :)

Tim| 5.7.09 @ 9:49AM

The acorn has only one natural enemy: the squirrel. We need more squirrels...

Then we can send squirrel postcards to the White House reading: " He's after your nuts! "

Faffnir| 5.7.09 @ 9:55AM

I wonder how long it will take The One and the rag-tag band of intellectual dwarves that compose his congressional party to realise that the capitalists they are demonising are the ones who can choose to use their dollars to support their own demise or defeat the proposed fascist usurpation?

Who will lend if he knows he will not be repaid?

I recall the old saying - "When you've got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow."

Jo| 5.7.09 @ 7:04PM

Keep writing and exposing the bullying being
handed out by the White House.... threats
to put the White House Press on you and destroy
you. Now isn't that a shame in America!????

Cesar M.| 5.13.09 @ 5:59AM

Cliff Asness has decided to break rank despite of people in the financial industry have been keeping mum lately. Cliff Asness, from AQR Capital, let President Obama have it, after the chief executive announced his discontentment of how hedge funds were held back from investing in Chryller LLC and with their restructing deal, while their bankruptcy negotiations were ongoing. According to Asness, the hedge funds manager has the responsibility to their clients, and granting debt relief to a company in bankruptcy isn’t among them. Which means, that he doesn’t have to invest nor participate in any deal he doesn’t think will make his clients money, and keep clients out of wanting short term loans is what Cliff Asness does for a living. For further reading click: http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/05/06/cliff-asness-obama-chrysler/