Americans Not Blaming Obama For AIG: Poll

Americans are angry about AIG, and they want the government to stop the bailed-out firm's executives from getting bonuses. But according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, they don't blame President Obama (or Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner) for the upsetting rewards.

Nearly half of those surveyed (46%) say AIG management is "most to blame for the fact that these bonuses were paid." Almost one in five (19%) finger Congress, while 8% blame Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and 7% say President Obama bears responsibility.

News articles in recent days have highlighted Geithner's role in the payouts. Most recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that aides to the Treasury Secretary worked with AIG on the issue for months. And members of Congress have argued that the White House is at least partially to blame. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) told the press that the Treasury was to blame for allowing "excessive executive compensation." Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), asked about a loophole that allowed banks receiving bailout money to give bonuses, "This was a Senate -- I'm going to cut you off -- this was Senate/White House -- this is Senate-White House language."

Comments

[vinny]

Let's see, O issued a veto threat keeping Congress from legislating purse string measures for the 2nd TARP, and then signed the stimulus bill protecting bonuses.

[whiteboyblues]

facts, facts, facts? why not throw us some links to back up your statements?

[hortonhearsawho2]

whisper when u say facts, so as to not scare them away...the fishing is quite good....:)

[pharm]

The bonuses were included in the TARP bill from last year. The language in the stimulus bill was for future bonuses, not those already OK`ed.

[swo68]

Right. But if you believe Dodd, his amendmant was to include previous bonuses, too. According to Dodd, he was pressured by the Treasury to create the loophole, allowing the bonuses.

[hortonhearsawho2]

yo, vinny, lets take walk by the bay, here, let me get the shoes, use gets the cement...

[lisak2008]

LOL!!

[Cookie100]

HOW COULD ANYONE BLAME OBAMA, AIG REMEMBER, BUSH!!! GEEZE

[theone718]

Wait I thought this is supposed to be Obama's "Katrina moment"

I am so close to no longer watching cable news.

[Javida]

This is only one poll but good news for Obama. Maybe Obama gets off the hook, fair enough, but not Geithner should not, nor Dodd in addition to Liddy, Summers and AIG Board of Directors.

[Mabila]

Com'on Get a life please!

[KofTX]

Please don't buy into the hype Javida...

This whole "Blame Game" is instigated by the media to discredit this administration and distract us from the REAL culprit:

The Federal Reserve Bank!

[whiteboyblues]

cable news sucks!

[KofTX]

I stopped 2 weeks ago...

[faithnj]

i stopped watching cable news 3 weeks ago, and I feel so much better....sigh.

[hortonhearsawho2]

troils on the rooftops across america...

[SOLERSO68]

LOL

[theone718]

ONCE AGAIN, the MSM and the American people differ totally.

[darleneslee]

OMG, what will morning schmo and pika have to talk about ?

[mywordisgospel]

darleneslee, you and I are on the same page. For the first time in a long time I tried to watch. I actually recorded it. About a third of the way through I deleted the recording. Whining Morning Joke was just too much to bear. If it wasn't for that large head of his I would swear he was an angry toddler. This man despises the president. At least his sidekick was sticking to her guns this morning. And that little lost sheep, Willie? Why did he speak at all?

[hortonhearsawho2]

ur a braver soul then i...have never watched it actually...

[Yurdelite]

The media period.

[hortonhearsawho2]

first lie they recall from their dreams...

[SOLERSO68]

I doubt they dream much. i imagine they fall into an exausted coma-like sleep after hours of going at it like wild pigs

[Marion Watts]

I'm glad people aren't blaming the President, and I'm dismayed at how some of the press seem almost eager to go after him on this one. He's been in office less than 100 days, and this problem is the tip of an iceberg that's been festering for years. The roots go back to the era of Reagan and, in the UK, to blatant Thatcherism. Obama's been left with a helluva lot of sh*t on his plate. We're fortunate we have an intelligent man at the helm now instead of what we got lumbered with for the past 8 years.

www. myspace.com/virginiadem
http://emiliawahoo76.blogspot.com

[swo68]

Ya, we shouldn't blame Obama for the contents of a bill that he puts his signature on. After all, he's just doing what he's told.

[weatherwaxx]

Get a life.

[hortonhearsawho2]

u wipe after flushing, genius...stop licking your fingers, its just wrong .

[instarx]

You make it sound like there was a specific bill that was presented to him to give bonuses, and he signed it. In fact, it was a couple of sentences buried in a complex stimulus bill that was desperately needed asap.

Even if the consequences of those few sentences were fully understood it would have been irresponsible to have vetoed the entire bill because of them. There is no line-item veto.

[Three Four Five]

Financial Terrorism and Recouping the Bonus Payouts...

http://voteforamerica.net/ editorials/ Comments.aspx?ArticleId=256&ArticleName=Squashing+Fiscal+Abuse

[MadCroation]

If we wait for the president or congress to fix this country we are missing the point of this last election. This country is the responsibility of every one of us. As long as we are only worried about our own self interest, we as a country are doomed to fail. The outrage aimed at AIG, and other Wall Street workers is because when we look at these people we see ourselves. They are a reflection of us and our own greed. We have an opportunity here to make a differance in the future of this nation that few generations will ever have. There have been countries in the past that did not realize this and all we know of them is what archaeologists have been able to surmise from their ruins. If we don't start showing more interest in the Quality of Life rather than the Quantity of life, I am affraid that we will follow these other nations to our demise. We will, unfortunately get what we deserve.

[NCRedhead]

Excellent point...I would add to this: And caring about other people, not just ourselves.

[dclasky]

As I've mentioned before, the people we elect to represent us are a reflection of us. All of us were complicit in our nation's problems because we were complacent. As a result, it will take all of us working together to dig ourselves out of the big hole. We need to stop the finger-pointing and start taking constructive action by helping each other.

[Javida]

Yes, quoting Obama: We are the change we've been waiting for! The fat corporate cats are fat America because we're stuffing them with our massive spending and credit debt !!!! And look at how they treat us in return -- exorbitant credit card interest rates and fees and awful customer service. The cable/satellite dish companies even make us pack up and return our box (receiver) even when lousy services in the first place has led to cancellation. And you have to go stand in line or make a trip to UPS on your own time to return it. And to think you have to pay to talk with a customer service rep at some banks and self scan your own groceries at some stores. (Kroger has only self scan, self bag during late hours in Houston stores! Since when did we sign up to work for free at Kroger! ) Time to show we're not taking abuse by big business any longer all the while stuffing their bank accounts! Shame on us!

[NoSillyName]

As well they shouldn't.

[lpeggy]

After listening to the cable heads all day, not ONE show mentioned these numbers. NOT ONE. That includes MSNBC. I guess it doesn't go with their agenda.

[Mavsreader]

Nope. It's the "President should be very, very worried about his relationship with the American public" on CNN and MSNBC. What time are the shows taped? I guess the narrative was written this morning, with no wiggle room.

[bilmardre]

What's the corporate media to do?
hehe....

They aren't done. The war is far from over.
They will try a different flank. Be ready.

[tokenconservative]

If it was Bush, on the other hand, journalists would be calling for his head (anyone remember TARP misallocations).

[slinkymom]

That was after 8 years of his pathetic presidency, of course people got on his case. He didn't even try to act as if he cared what happened to our economy. He got his and he was leaving, what did he care?

[montecarlo408]

Until 9-11, Bush spent his first year clearing brush and holding full conversations with Barney, yet no one in the MSM called him out on it. Even after his idiotic response to that, he still won re-election, because the MSM facilitated his lies about WMD's. I'd say all in all, Bush got off pretty easily, especially when you factor in the fact that he and Cheney aren't in jail.

[GravitonX]

Obama is fireproof.

7%, well that's all those hardcore racists.

[tel8034]

After all of the hard work by the repubs and the MSM to bring Obama down, and after spending all that time on their lastest project designed to link Obama to the financial collapse and the AIG fiasco, the repubs and the MSM have FAILED.

Knowledge is power, and Americans NOW are totally tuned into what's happening politically .......... They know how to do the research, and now can clearly distinguish the good guys from the bad ones.

Is the change we wanted now finally starting to kick in, where the "dirty tactics" of politics and mis-information of old is becoming ineffective and is being rejected?

[conniedogs]

YET!

[Dystopic]

not gonna happen.

[conniedogs]

My friend, you are headed for great disappointment.