Obama has received more money from Wall Street than any politician

posted at 11:08 am on October 10, 2011 by Howard Portnoy
[ Double Standards ]   

As the Wall Street Occupiers (aka 99 Percent) approach week four of their vigil, they have yet to publish or announce a set of clear-cut objectives. One general theme around which the loosely knit protest movement is organized is a vague opposition to Wall Street and an antipathy toward all who have access to its purse strings.

That would include the man who is arguably Wall Street’s biggest detractor and an OWS sympathizer—Barack Obama. A study by the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation’s Influence Project finds that Obama has received more in campaign donations from the financial sector than any other politician in the last two decades.

So far, the president has received $16 million in Wall Street contributions. The amount, which accounts for 20% of Obama’s total campaign funding, is $2.7 million more than George W. Bush received.

The Daily Caller quotes former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer as commenting:

It’s almost as if President Obama won’t cross across a Wall Street picket line except to get inside with [his] hand out, so he can raise money. That sort of support causes him to look hypocritical.

Fleischer adds that if Obama and other Democrats, including New York Sen. Charles Schumer, are so offended by Wall Street’s actions, they should put their mouths where their money is. Schumer has received roughly $8.7 million from the financial sector since 1989.

But the disconnect between what Obama says and does becomes more pronounced when you examine his specific list of donors. One of them is Bank of America, which donated $421,242 to Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. The president returned their kindness last week when he pounced all over B of A for its newly announced $5 monthly fee on debit card users.

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