The not so shiny “outsider-come-to-Washington-to reform-it” armor of President Obama

The Daily Caller published an article by C.J. Ciaramella today. It’s about Jon Corzine, former Goldman Sachs chairman who became Democratic Governor of New Jersey and went back to Wall Street after Republican Chris Christie became New Jersey governor.

The firm Corzine headed in New York, which he wanted to turn into another Goldman Sachs, filed for bankruptcy this week, mostly because it took the considerable risk of buying heavily into Eurozone bonds (Greek, Italian, etc, which as we know are falling through the floor these days).  The losses were so great that the firm went belly up. But, Corzine seems set to pocket a $12 Million severance package.

That’s not such an unusual thing, except that Jon Corzine is a great friend and supporter of President Obama, indeed, one of Obama’s keys for tapping into Wall Street. He co-hosted an Obama fundraiser at his home in April where tickets cost $35,800. Overall, Corzine has raised more than $500,000 for Obama’s re-election campaign.

Concerning Corzine’s severance package , aka golden parachute, Ciaramella reports the president’s own words:

• “First of all, I’m going to have a lot to say about this guy, but I just want everybody to know that one of my earliest supporters, somebody who had faith and confidence in me before I was a United States senator was the man standing next to me right here — Jon Corzine,” Obama said.
• “I’m among a lot of friends and I, first of all, obviously want to thank Jon and Sharon for hosting us in this extraordinary venue,” Obama said. “These guys have been just great friends from the start. Some of you know that Jon was a big supporter of mine in my first U.S. Senate race when nobody could pronounce my name.”
• “And Jon Corzine wasn’t just the first governor to pass an economic recovery plan for his state; he was an ally in helping the federal government, my administration, develop the national recovery plan,” Obama said.

Ciaramella goes on to say that in a 2008 campaign ad, Obama attacked John McCain for his ties to campaign adviser and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who was paid a little more than $20 million in severance.

“You’ve got corporate executives who are giving themselves million dollar golden parachutes and leaving workers high and dry,” Obama said in the 2008 ad. “That’s wrong. It’s an outrage.”

After being elected, Obama promised in 2009 to take “the air out of golden parachutes” by capping at $500,000 executive pay of companies receiving federal bailout money.

So, we have just another little scratch in the shiny “outsider-come-to-Washington-to reform-it” armor of President Obama.

Will Obama demand that Corzine forego his golden parachute? Not likely. But, as is the case in politics, Corzine may find that the White House direct line has suddenly disappeared because, in addition to the MF Global bankruptcy, the firm is also being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the FBI for misplacing hundreds of millions of dollars in customer money.

That, dear readers, is my tale of the day. Do not believe anything you hear, and only half of what you read, especially when it’s coming from political animals.

 

 PS: Many thanks to the reader who sent me a comment about yesterday's blog on Greece. I wish the very best of luck to her and all those who are fighting to save freedom and liberty for all of us. To join as a follower, I believe you should click on the follower box and enter your coordinates. But, sometimes the support of Blogger.com is a little weak, so if that doesn't work, let me know and I'll try to help.