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White House Moves Swiftly To Stem Fallout Of Disastrous Obama Interview.
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| Contributor | DEPolitics |
| Last Edited | DEPolitics Feb 10, 2010 01:26pm |
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| Category | News |
| Author | Sam Stein |
| News Date | Wednesday, February 10, 2010 07:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The White House is moving swiftly to stem the fallout from a potentially damaging interview President Obama gave on Tuesday, in which he was quoted saying that he did not "begrudge" the multibillion-dollar bonuses of Wall Street executives.
Administration aides insisted, in email exchanges with the Huffington Post, that the quote was largely overplayed. The story, they say, made it appear as if the president didn't mind massive compensation packages when he was simply stating that he didn't fault anyone for his or her personal or professional success. Moreover, they added, the president has made similar remarks many times before without getting the critical reception he received on Wednesday morning.
"The president has said countless times, as he did in the interview, that he doesn't 'begrudge' the success of Americans, but he also expressed 'shock' at the size of bonuses and made clear that there are a number of steps that need to be taken to change the culture of Wall Street," spokesperson Jen Psaki told the Huffington Post. "[That is] a sentiment he has consistently expressed since long before he took office."
On Wednesday morning, Bloomberg Business Week published the write-up of the 30-minute interview it conducted with the president the day before. The story led with Obama saying he does not "begrudge" the $17 million bonus awarded to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon or the $9 million issued to Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein. Acknowledging it was "an extraordinary amount of money," Obama went on to note that "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."
The National Republican Congressional Committee was quick on the attack, sending the story to reporters under the title: "OBAMA SUDDENLY SCALES BACK ANTI-WALL STREET RHETORIC." On the opposite end of the ideological spectrum -- and at a slightly more elevated intellectual level -- Paul Krugman of the New Yor |
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