THE PRESIDENT AND THE MONEY MEN – AT 9:22 A.M. ET:  Very, very revealing.  Mr. Obama is doing the populist dance right now, claiming he represents the common American in a death duel with the vultures of Wall Street. 

Well, there are certainly vultures on Wall Street.  Some of them have been my neighbors.  But, as the Washington Examiner points out, they don't exactly see this president, or his party, as enemies, and we have to wonder why:

"If these folks want a fight," President Obama said Thursday, tossing a rhetorical barb at Wall Street, "it's a fight I'm ready to have."

But what if they don't want a fight?

They don't seem to have their dukes up.

For his presidential campaign in which Wall Street regulation was a mantra, Obama's top source of funds was investment bank giant Goldman Sachs, whose employees, partners, and executives gave him $995,000 -- that's the most any politician has raised from any one company in a single election since the age of "soft money" ended..

...The "securities and investment" industry has favored Democrats by more than a two-to-one margin so far this cycle. The top eight recipients of Wall Street PAC money this election are all Democrats.

Hmm.  Does the Progressive Caucus in the House know about this sinning?

And 10 days ago, once it was clear Martha Coakley's campaign was in trouble, Citigroup's PAC cut a $2,400 check, while many lobbyists representing Goldman, Citi, and Morgan Stanley shelled out for her Capitol Hill wine-bar fundraiser.

They should ask for their money back, with interest.

Obama's record as a bailout booster also makes it tough to buy his current schtick as anti-Wall Street crusader.

Remember, Obama, as the presidential nominee and head of the party controlling Congress, could have blocked Bush's bailout in late 2008. Instead, he rallied behind it, and rewarded its architects -- Timothy Geithner and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke -- by promoting Geithner and renominating Bernanke.

So when Obama, touting his bank tax, says "we want our money back," recall that it was Obama who helped the banks take your money -- without asking you. It's as if a mugger took your wallet and gave it to Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein, and then posed as your champion by promising to raise Blankfein's taxes.

Ouch.

Finally...

But everyone who opposes the bank tax -- which, of course, the banks will just pass it through to customers -- will be tarred by the Democratic machine as siding with Wall Street over Main Street. Same with Obama's proposed financial regulations, even though they would institutionalize bailouts by dubbing Goldman Sachs and its ilk "Tier One Financial Institutions."

The press will follow Obama's rhetoric over the coming months, and paint him as the scourge of Wall Street. It's more illuminating, though, to follow the legislation -- and follow the money.

COMMENT:  That is good reporting.  I haven't seen an equivalent exposé in the respectable media.

January 22, 2010