VIDEO: AIG bonuses mystery solved
'Outraged' Obama lashes out at AIG bonuses. President Barack Obama Monday ripped into bailed-out company AIG, vowing to block multi-million-dollar bonus payouts by the giant insurer as public anger builds against Wall Street excess.
READ MORE: AFP 3-16-09
(Three days later) COSTA MESA, Calif. -- President Barack Obama said he will take the blame for bonuses being paid at American International Group Inc.....
READ MORE: WSJ 3-19-09
Sudden change? This is why:
In a stunning development, Sen. Christopher Dodd said that Obama administration officials asked him to add language to last month's federal stimulus bill to make sure the controversial AIG bonuses remained in place.
READ MORE: CNBC 3-18-09
Think this episode marks Obama as an idiot? Wrong. Obama is a very intelligent socialist who is achieving his aims.
READ: Banker fury over tax ‘witch-hunt’
There were fears that the backlash triggered by AIG’s payment of $165m in bonuses to executives responsible for losses that forced a $170bn taxpayer-funded rescue would have devastating consequences for the largest banks.
“Finance is one of America’s great industries, and they’re destroying it,” said one banker at a firm that has accepted public money.
READ MORE: Financial Times
Treasury's toxic asset plan could cost (ANOTHER) $1 trillion
Under the new powers being sought by the administration, the treasury secretary could only seize a firm with the agreement of the president and the Federal Reserve.
read more: AP News
60 Minutes to Obama: Are you Punch Drunk?
But Obama also makes clear in the interview that he believes Wall Street’s high-risk, high-reward culture was a main cause of the economic meltdown. ...He also said he doesn’t think Wall Street has gotten his message yet, and that he must do a better job conveying it to them....
read more: Politico
ALSO READ: Some Republicans brake rush to AIG tax
Senator Chris Dodd in Political Trouble, losing in poll: The Rasmussen poll suggests that Chris Dodd's problems may adhere to Democrats as a whole. The generic party preference, according to Rasmussen, favors Republicans in the 2010 election for the first time in many years.
READ MORE: Associated Content
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will call for increased oversight of executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies as part of a sweeping plan to overhaul financial regulation, government officials said.
READ MORE: New York Times 3-21-09
"AIG is Obama's 'Katrina' -- in terms of an example of government's failure -- and the failure of presidential leadership."
... That's according to former Ohio Secretary of State and Family Research Council Senior Fellow Ken Blackwell.
READ MORE: AOL News 3-18-09
"Every single Democrat in this House that voted for that bill voted to approve and protect those AIG bonuses." Rep Thad McCotter (R-MI)
VIDEO: CSPAN
Rep Maxine Waters (D-CA) "Maybe the President's not up to speed...he's got some explaining to do...."
VIDEO: MSNBC
Waters Helped Bank Whose Stock She Once Owned
READ MORE: WSJ 3-12-09
Waters, Frank, Meeks and other Dems defend Fannie Mae (2004)
VIDEO: Youtube
Obama’s Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac connection
READ MORE: Fox News
Iraqi Billionaire threatens reporters investigating Obama-Rezko affair
READ MORE: AIM
READ: Barack Obama Reading List