Racist Code-Words: Professor Obama Calls Jewish Execs "Savvy Businessmen"

Wink-frickin'-wink.

President Barack Obama said he doesn’t “begrudge” the $17 million bonus awarded to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon or the $9 million issued to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein, noting that some athletes take home more pay.

The president, speaking in an interview, said in response to a question that while $17 million is “an extraordinary amount of money” for Main Street, “there are some baseball players who are making more than that and don’t get to the World Series either, so I’m shocked by that as well.”

“I know both those guys; they are very savvy businessmen,” Obama said in the interview yesterday in the Oval Office with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which will appear on newsstands Friday. “I, like most of the American people, don’t begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free- market system.”

Well, actually, Jamie Dimon isn't Jewish. But he's Greek. Close enough.

So, why is Obama so cool about huge bonuses for Blankfein and Dimon?

It's hard to say, really.

Dimon is a Democrat and worked in President Obama's town of Chicago, and after Obama took office and JPMorgan Chase repaid its bailout money more quickly than most, he became influential in the White House.[13] Dimon was one of three CEO's found by the Associated Press—along with Lloyd Blankfein and Vikram Pandit—to have had liberal access to United States Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner in the seven months after the financial crisis in fall 2008.[14]

Blankfein's a Democrat too, though he gave at least $7000 to Hillary. I'm sure he'll spread some "savvy businessman" love to Obama in 2012, too, though.

So, what happened to Populist Obama? Well...

As many of you know, last week it was reported that Wall Street wasn't responding to Democratic fund raising efforts with much enthusiasm. Evidently the Democratic Party's brain trust was unprepared for Wall Street bankers responding to 13 months of public vilification by keeping their checkbooks closed. Go figure. No doubt some DNC drone rushed over to the White House and informed some Administration drone that the money has stopped flowing. Enter, on cue, the Obama walk-back.

Thanks to EdwardR for the Alinsky "make them obey their own rules" angle.

Story: Here's the NYT, via Hot Air, on Democrats' chagrin that Wall Street ain't donating like they used to.

Captain Ed rounds up Obama's populist pap on Wall Street bonuses, if you need a reminder.

Expiration date.

posted by Ace at 01:04 PM

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