Obama: "I Did Not Run For Office To Be Helping Out A Bunch Of Fat Cat Bankers"

[bobbyw24]

Obama Hypocrisy Meter Off The Charts: "I Did Not Run For Office To Be Helping Out A Bunch Of Fat Cat Bankers On Wall Street"

Obama goes back to his Wall Street-bashing rhetoric in today's 60 Minutes on CBS, after he has already doomed this country to tens of trillions in excess debt to make sure that Wall Street not only thrives, but prospers, courtesy of Bernanke's vertical bond curve and the daily destruction of the dollar. With statements such as "I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street" which the WSJ disclosed will be uttered by Obama shortly, only the most clueless viewers will find empathy with Obama's latest message of banker "anti-hope."

And it is not only Obama, but Wall Street protege Larry Summer himself who continues the banker bashing:

White House economic adviser Larry Summers also voiced aggravation with Wall Street on Sunday. "Here is what I think they don't get…It was their irresponsible risk-taking in many cases that brought the economy to collapse," Mr. Summers, who chairs the National Economic Council, said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"And they don't get in some cases that they wouldn't be where they are today, and they certainly would not be paying the bonuses they are paying today, if their government hadn't taken extraordinary actions."

"For them to be complaining about serious regulation directed at making sure this never happens again is wrong. For $300 million to be spent on lobbyists trying to gut serious efforts at financial reform is not how this country should be operating," Mr. Summers said. "For firms that have benefited from taxpayer support to be complaining about the government burdening them is, frankly, a bit rich."

First you bail them out, and now you bash them? It is one thing to dash criticism upon rhetoric but at least be consistent. If people can not read between the lines of this administration's endless hypocrisy, they deserve all they get. And if Matt Taibbi's latest controversial piece in Rolling Stone "Obama's Big Sellout" needed any final validation, you just provided it Mr. President. Because while your Wall Street-centric policies can be explained by your lack of financial comprehension and private-sector experience (thereby justifying your desire to be "advised" by those who are an integral part of the banker syndicate), your complete disdain for the average American's intellectual level exemplified by your most recent, upcoming 7 pm TV appearance is what is truly insulting. Maybe you can put Mr. Geithner up there next to you on the TV screen, and he can justify his reasoning for why incremental "fat cat" bonuses are such a bad idea. Come to think of it, why not make it into a round table, and include Larry Summer and Robert Rubin: we are confident they will have no problem distancing themselves from the very bankers they talk to 10 hours a day, telling them (and thus you) how to run national policy.

You say "Some people on Wall Street still don't get it"... The problem, Mr. President, is that more and more people on Main Street, do get it. They now realize just whose agenda you have at heart. And said Main Street expects nothing but merely more theatrics during your upcoming meeting with Wall Street "fat cats" tomorrow.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/obama-hypocrisy-meter-charts-i-did-not-run-office-be-helping-out-bunch-fat-cat-bankers-wall-

[Immortal Technique]

Massive face palmage

[purplechoe]

War is peace?

http://w2.eff.org/Misc/Graphics/nsa_1984.gif

http://derivadow.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/apple-1984.jpg

[NerveShocker]

That's strange I wonder why they supported him with all that money to get elected. Definitely not for the bailouts.. Obama just said so and he never lies.

In all fairness though Obama isn't completely lying.. this is not the ONLY reason he was ran for president.

[purplechoe]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3169/2890788245_8411ca8250.jpg

[TCE]

Don't the big firms want this? I remember Schiff saying repeatedly how any kind of reform hurts him way more than any of the big banks.

For some more hypocrisy: without Obama championing it, the bailout never would have passed.

[Dianne]

No, he didn't run for office to help out some rich cat bankers.. He ran for office to take over the world and all its' wealth. Only the United Nations could facilitate the taking over of America by a muslim illegal immigrant.

If you are not yet terrified by the United Nations, you certainly should be.

[Liberty Star]

Yea, he just ran so JF Kerry can live out his failed Presidential ambitions through him. Looks like Obama does what Kerry and his other handlers say.

[SevenEyedJeff]

USA looks more like Atlas Shrugged every day.

[bobbyw24]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama may have some tough words on Monday for executives of top U.S. banks as he pushes them to step up small-business lending and get behind legislation to overhaul Wall Street regulations.

Aides said that when Obama meets with the heads of firms such as Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc, he will call on them to take responsibility for helping the economy after benefiting from taxpayer-funded bailouts of the financial sector.

Obama complained in an interview with the CBS program "60 Minutes" aired on Sunday about bonuses bankers are raking in.

"I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street," Obama said.

After the meeting with the bankers, scheduled to start at 11:10 a.m., Obama will make a public statement about the economy, the White House said.

"What's really frustrating me right now is that you've got these same banks who benefited from taxpayer assistance who are fighting tooth and nail with their lobbyists up on Capitol Hill, fighting against financial regulatory control," Obama added.

Senior White House aide Lawrence Summers said Obama would "have a serious talk with the bankers."

"The country did incredible things for the banking industry," Summers, director of the National Economic Council, told ABC's "This Week" program. "They need to recognize that they've got obligations to the country after all that's been done for them, and there is a lot more they can do."

While seeking cooperation from the banks on issues such as credit availability for small businesses, the White House is also likely to continue its harsh public rhetoric toward the banks. Many Americans blame the banks for the economic crisis that has left the nation with 10 percent unemployment.

Obama, whose public approval ratings are below 50 percent and at the lowest levels of his presidency, is frustrated that some of the public's anger at Wall Street firms is being directed at his administration for its support of the $700 billion financial bailout program begun during the Bush administration.



http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B92U520091214?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28New s+%2F+US+%2F+Business+News%29&utm_content=Twitter

[bobbyw24]

Beating on Wall Street makes political sense these days. The public is furious that big banks and Wall Street firms are once again making pots of money while Main Street suffers through 10% unemployment. With year-end bonuses soon to be handed out to financial executives, Obama and the White House need to be seen to be on the side of the little guy.

So expect a healthy dose of political posturing before, during and after the President's meeting with top bankers Monday. "It's a PR stunt," says an executive at one of the banks that will be getting a dressing down at the White House meeting. Executives from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are expected to be among those in attendance. (See 25 people to blame for the financial crisis.)

Even administration officials privately admit that politics played a role in calling the meeting, and President Obama's harsh words for bankers on Sunday's 60 Minutes program reinforced the notion. During an interview on the CBS show the President said he didn't run for office "to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street," adding that "people on Wall Street still don't get it."

But Obama's bank bashing is about more than politics. The President has real problems only the banks can help him solve. On jobs, housing and the strength of the economy, he needs bankers to change their behavior, and there's only so much he can do to force them. So when he sits down with the financial industry elite on Monday, he may talk tough, but he'll also be asking for their help.

For many in the administration the biggest economic concern is the country's stubbornly high unemployment. The best way to attack that problem is to stimulate small business growth, but that won't happen as long as banks sharply limit lending to smaller companies. For their part, bankers feel they are responding prudently to a tough economy by tightening loan standards across the board. And while some of the biggest banks are healthy enough to pay back the government's emergency loans made from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, many smaller banks remain in crisis. So far this year the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has shut down 133 banks that succumbed to a tidal wave of loan defaults. "Given the state of the markets there's only so much we can do," to increase lending while limiting risk says one industry official.

So Obama will alternately threaten and plead with banks to open their purse strings. "One of the main messages from this meeting is that the financial industry received extraordinary help from the government — and ultimately the taxpayer — and now the industry has an obligation to help the small business owners," says White House spokesperson Jen Psaki.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1947411,00.html#ixzz0ZexpewQq

[bobbyw24]

President Obama and his team of economic advisors lashed out at large-cap banks calling bank executives “fat cats” that “don’t get it” in a move that will certainly escalate tensions between the nation’s largest banks ahead of a meeting between the White House and industry executive.

Mr. Obama, speaking just one day before tomorrow’s meetings with the heads of top banks at the White House, said that he would attempt to convince bankers to free up more credit for businesses, in hopes of boosting job growth during an interview to be broadcast on CBS’ “60 Minutes” program.

During his interview, President Obama expressed frustration with banks that the government provided assistance to, including JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and others.

“I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street,” said Mr. Obama.

Relations between the White House and the banking industry have deteriorated in recent weeks as large-cap banks have railed against Congress’s proposed overhaul of the financial services industry. Administration officials are also reported to be frustrated by the high-salaries of bank executives and the reluctance of some banks to lend.

President Obama reiterated his frustration during the interview, noting that some banks have continued to award bonuses and restrict lending while many Americans don’t have even have jobs. “Some people on Wall Street still don’t get it,” he said.

One of the White House’s economic advisors, Larry Summers, also stated his frustration with Wall Street on CNN’s “State of the Union” Program. Summers commented, “Here is what I think they don’t get…It was their irresponsible risk-taking in many cases that brought the economy to collapse.”

“And they don’t get in some cases that they wouldn’t be where they are today, and they certainly would not be paying the bonuses they are paying today, if their government hadn’t taken extraordinary actions,” said Summers.

Summers criticized large-cap banks for opposing the financial regulatory overhaul in Congress that would provide tighter regulation to the financial industry. Banks and their lobbyists have said that the new legislation would duplicate existing rules and create new overly broad rules that would be very costly to enforce.

http://www.americanbankingnews.com/2009/12/13/president-obama-calls-jp-morgan-nyse-jpm-citigroup-nyse-c-bank-of-america-nyse-bac-executives-“fat-cats”-that-“don’t-get-it”/

[bobbyw24]

The banks certainly did their share to create the financial crisis, but the idea that they "caused the problem" is a bit of an oversimplification. There is plenty of blame to go around -- the regulators, the Federal Reserve, and the politicians all screwed up, too, and Mr. Obama's failure to acknowledge that, while placing all the blame on the bankers, is misleading.

The whole episode for us just demonstrates that far from being the success that it's being hailed as, the bailout has damaged the reputation of the American financial industry and is impairing its freedom even after much of the TARP money has been repaid. The reputations of the politicians have been damaged, too, but, just like the bankers, they are going ahead and raising their own pay, with only Reps. Ron Paul (a Republican) and Harry Mitchell (a Democrat) standing in their way.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/178053-obama-on-wall-st-bonuses

[georgiaboy]

<insert fat lolcat>

Dear Mr. President,
You fail.
You are hypocrisy defined.
How dare attempt to be indignant at Wall Street.
Where did most of your campaign contributions come from?
Bailouts, stimulus, Fed policy, Geithner,...
What's your position on the bailouts?
What's your position on auditing the Fed? Ending it?
What's your position on deficit spending?
What's your position on growth of entitlements? Growth of government?
What's your position on taxation?

ugh, I'm livid.

[Captain America]

USA looks more like Atlas Shrugged every day.

yes it does

[Bruno]

USA looks more like Atlas Shrugged every day.

Can't wait for Stossel's program on Atlas Shrugged.

[Original_Intent]

It may not be why he ran for office, but it IS why he was elected.

[angelatc]

Yeah well, I didn't get married so I could stay home on weekends and become boring. But that doesn't mean that I'm not happy doing it.

[Original_Intent]

Yeah well, I didn't get married so I could stay home on weekends and become boring. But that doesn't mean that I'm not happy doing it.

I wouldn't say ANY RPFer is boring. And certainly not you!

I find every single person her absolutely fascinating. Some in a very positive sense.

[bobbyw24]

By Jonathan Weisman

Fresh off his meeting with the chief executives of some of the nation’s biggest banks, President Barack Obama has fixed a date to meet the CEOs of small banks, Dec. 22.

Next Tuesday’s confab might not have quite as much drama as today’s White House meeting; Obama saved his toughest words for the Wall Street “fat cats” that “don’t get it.” Those are the ones that took hundreds of billions of dollars from the government and are not paying out huge bonuses.

The smaller banks have largely been spared that lashing — but then again, the White House has yet to issue invitations to their executives.

www.wsj.com

[Freedom 4 all]

Right, and Bush didn't go to war to help out the military industrial complex.

[BlackTerrel]

No, he didn't run for office to help out some rich cat bankers.. He ran for office to take over the world and all its' wealth. Only the United Nations could facilitate the taking over of America by a muslim illegal immigrant.

If you are not yet terrified by the United Nations, you certainly should be.

Obama is neither a Muslim nor an illegal immigrant.

[mczerone]

Posturing.

This is all to throw off the scent of who controls the regulators: Obama can say he's playing opposition to these banksters that want to be "free from regulation." And of course there will be new regulation, and the banksters will be protected from competition while playing along with the scheme, and Obama can point to "new regulations" that will be lauded whether anything improves for the wider economy or not, regardless of the effects on those financial institutions that can't afford new regulations.

2010: Bank Failure 5000