WALL STREET STRIKES BACK - A top financial industry insider offered M.M. a blistering response to reports that the Obama 2012 campaign will make attacks on Wall Street a centerpiece of the reelection strategy: "Hard to tell if the Obama Administration's vilify Wall Street strategy is inspired or insane. The Obama Administration was the top recipient of Wall Street cash last election and the list of Wall Street insiders and bailout supporters working for Obama is truly breathtaking. ... The President's Treasury Secretary was in charge of the New York Fed [during the start of] the bailout. The President reappointed Ben Bernanke, a key architect of the bailout. ..
"The President's White House National Economic Council Director took almost a million dollars from Goldman Sachs before joining the Administration ... The President's National Security Advisor is a former top Fannie Mae lobbyist, and both of his OMB chiefs have ties to big banks. Obama's current Chief of Staff is from JPMorgan Chase, and his predecessor was on the board of Freddie Mac. ... If the President really wants to send Wall Street a message why doesn't he just convene a meeting of his senior staff? ...
"Openly supporting and identifying with the Wall Street protesters is also risky. Some of them (in Portland) were just caught on tape cursing America. The last person who did that on tape was Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and Obama's ties to him turned out to be a real liability."
ANOTHER WALL STREET EXEC emailed: "I don't get it. So weird. They have to pull the middle ... not rally the base. I hope Romney does an ad using Obama's inaugural speech about hope and a new way of doing things."
WALL STREET CASH IS NOT THE POINT - Or at least not the way many think. Clearly, as the NYT reported on A1 on Sunday, Romney is going to crush Obama on Wall Street. Bankers like (if not love) Romney. And they loathe Obama-even many of the Democrats-with relentless passion. And the new full-body embrace of Occupy Wall Street has pretty much undone any bridge-building that took place earlier this year. ...
That doesn't mean the President will have any cash problems, as the third quarter figures show and as the NYT reports on today's front. It just means that there is likely to be ever-more massive piles of cash flowing to the GOP nominee and supportive outside groups to ensure a total bloodbath of a general campaign that will blow away anything anyone has ever seen. NYT A1 today says Obama and the DNC have already spent $87 million "about as much as all the current Republican candidates together have raised." http://nyti.ms/qoXKAr
OBAMA: MORE SUPPORT FOR PROTESTORS - FT's Shannon Bond in a piece bannered by Drudge overnight: "Barack Obama ... offered more support for protesters against the global financial system after a weekend of demonstrations in cities around the world, but called on them not to 'demonise' those who worked on Wall Street. On Sunday ... Mr Obama said: 'Dr King would want us to challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonising those who work there.' Mr Obama had previously said the protests 'express the frustration' of ordinary Americans with the financial sector."http://on.ft.com/pLesr0