Biggest Donors To Inauguration: Wall Street Execs

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama has banned corporations and big donors from funding his Jan. 20 inauguration. But 90% of donations received so far have been raised by well-heeled fund-raisers, including Wall Street executives whose companies have received billions of dollars in federal bailout money.

A total of 207 fund-raisers have collected $24.8 million of the $27.3 million in contributions disclosed by Mr. Obama through Thursday, according to an analysis by nonpartisan campaign finance group Public Citizen commissioned by The Wall Street Journal.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[nogimmicks]

That is a part of the reason why Obama keeps repeating that nonsense about the need to create an enormous deficit and give a trillion dollars of the public money to the bankers because it is " life blood of the economy", instead of talking substance.

[DontJustFollow]

What is the big deal? - first and foremost the leaders of big business and big money need to curry favor with who ever is in charge. They did it for Bush and for Clinton and they will do it for who ever comes after Obama.

When it was revealed how much money fannie and freddie gave Obama was anyone shocked?

Cash is the mothers milk of politics. Always has been always will be - what is most shocking is that some people are surprised by this story. The important thing is that now that all this guys are paying for Obama's party it means they are no longer the enemy - - -

[ohmetoo]

Who knew there was this free money floating around the wall st crowd? Boy I feel like a smuck taken, but my donation to the neighborhood ball was paltry, sweepers change in comparison! But I could have used it in my bank account.

[mercuryguy]

nobody's got any money to contribute except those execs

[jeffp26]

Wow, this is a shocking, truly devastating story. Good thing I was sitting down when I read it.

Who would have expected the status quo to ......

[Mnemanth]

How can they have money to contribute? They have no money, thus the handout...
I mean- sorry!- the Bailout.
We're in a financial crisis!! Right?
Or don't they get the same "The Sky is Falling" propaganda that we get?

[LARRYB28]

change

[rollingdivision]

This is just bonus graft.

[harriscrl3]

Some people dont understand that they have a different agenda than Obama. That includes Congress Wallstreet etc. You know what the difference is they all have their narrow parochial interest whether its more spending or its wallstreet donating to his inauguration in the hopes of getting something back. Or its Petraoues saying 16 months is too soon to be drawing down troops. All of them have their own NARROW parochial agenda. Obama on the other hand looks at the big picture. His priority is to get the economy running again and so he has several things he wants to try. Of course because wallstreet gives money Oh he is going to beholden to wallstreet and what some fail to understand they are part of the picture but they NOT the whole picture. Obama looks at the whole picture so of course some are going to cherry pick and say see this is to benefit wallstreet Obama is their president and then IGNORE the other aspect of his plan. Their goal is different from his goal. He is thinking like the president and looking at the big picture and I for one I'm grateful that finally we have a President like that.

Carol

[plwood01]

Some people might be upset and thinking that they will somehow get Obama on their side but I suspect that Obama realized that the American people will never get anything back from the first disbursement of the bailout, so he is getting the donations and in turn spreading it onto the people by having them essentially pay for the Inauguration themselves. Sounds good to me, at least we will be able to say that for once, we the people got a chance for some Rest and Relaxation from the crooks that stole all our money! That is why he kept adding events for different groups that were helpful during his campaign. I do not mind him using their dime for a change, do you?

[Beachrunner]

Hefty price tag for the inauguration: $37 million.

"Meet the new boss. . . . . ."

[nomobull]

the trolls are awake

[Social Construct]

I'm willing to wait 100 days to see which way the wind is blowing in the Obama administration. But this does raise some concerns about how some people might be unwilling to change how the game is played in our nation's capitol. I am glad that, at least, we have a light on the balance sheets and can see who's forking over the cash for the bash. And, who knows "bundling" better than Wall Street?

[hortonhearsawho2]

So, you don't want to afford O eight years like you did meathead ?

[Social Construct]

Um, 100 days before I begin to opine about the direction our new President is taking the nation. I am confident, however, that Obama will do a better job than Bush. I'm unclear where you get the idea that I gave Bush any courtesy. I happened to think, out loud, before he was elected, that Mr. Bush was going to be the worst man for the position in contemporary history, if not our entire history. Going against my own senses of justice, I was unwilling to give Mr. Bush any grace period before critiquing his performance. He made it too easy.

[1dogs2]

And no one knows administrative law and how to write regulations better than Cass Sunstein. His appointment should tell which way the wind is blowing; no need to wait 100 days.

[vote-obama]

SO?... tell us who the biggest donors to the h u ff po are and we will call it even.

[ema]

H u f f p o doesn't have donors. It's a business and it has investors. Get it private sector vs public sector.

[Bel4life]

Hmmm, let's see...

Many of the Wall St firms that got the bailout bankrolled both Party Conventions in the Summer (google it).

Now the bulk of the money raised for the Inauguration has come from Wall St Execs.

Sounds like they are using their "Get Out of Jail Free" cards.

After all this theft ($8.5 trillion and rising) they still have their jobs while ordinary folks lose theirs.

All politicians are in the hands of the big Corporations - Wake UP America!

[plwood01]

At least the people are getting something back for all that money for a change. They might think that they are influencing Obama and that is their job, that is what they do! That does not mean that Obama will crawl up into their back pockets, they will be greatly surprised when he tells them to stay away from the Senate and Congress as he will not deal with lobbyists at all! I think the man is smart enough to figure out who is who and what is what and he has surrounded himself with others who will do the same or get fired... No one will play the types of games that the last administration has for fear of being investigated and charged with crimes, unlike the Bushies.

[SangZe]

And we will soon see that nothing has changed . . . same old same old . . .

[Bec01]

I find the biggest complainers are also the ones with no ideas on how to change things.. The guy has a huge problem he has to cleanup and I have no doubt he will do what he thinks is in the best interest for the COUNTRY.. Unlike the the guy that is leaving office whose priority was with his buddies.

[tel8034]

Beco1,

WELL SAID ..........­..........­... I TOTALLY AGREE.....­..........­..... The biggest complainers are also the ones with no ideas on how to change things.

[hortonhearsawho2]

Oh come on, you will turn twelve eventually and things will change. the Zits will come...

[plwood01]

One thing this country needs is to try to be more positive and helpful to our new President. Just trying to understand the depth and breadth of what Obama has to overcome and conquer would be a big help... I do not understand the continued effort to keep people in a state of distress when we need to build confidence now so that things do not go completely belly up. I hate to say it, but it is becoming increasingly clear that many in this nation would rather see it fall like Russia than to do anything or say anything that would of help to the Democrats and especially President Elect Obama. So many people posting here everyday are probably just making it worse because Obama does not read his good press, he looks everyday for the bad press and comments from the people because he wants to know what people think and then he can make adjustments based on the comments from a real cross section of citizens using these blogs.