Fat Cats purr at the hands of Barrack Obama

The Wall Street Journal 04/07-08/12 Robert Frank

“A ‘Fat Cat’ with the President’s Ear”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304072004577327853694265034.html

When President Barack Obama attacked "fat-cat bankers on Wall Street" in 2009, Robert Wolf had a ready response.

"I said 'Mr. President, I know you think I'm overweight, but I can think of better names to call me,'" Mr. Wolf recalls. "He laughed."

Humor and self-deprecation have served Mr. Wolf well in his often conflicting roles as presidential pal and Wall Street power broker. The 50-year-old president of UBS's UBS +2.85% investment bank has remained a leading voice in the industry while also serving as Mr. Obama's chief Wall Street fundraiser and his current BFF (best friend in finance).

President Obama has made top earners and the "reckless practices" in banking targets of his re-election campaign, calling for higher taxes on hedge-fund managers and private-equity bosses, and more regulation of finance.

Mr. Wolf and top Democrats in financial services play down the numbers. Mr. Wolf says the president's fundraising "is going very well" and that Mr. Obama is simply doing fewer events in New York. He says he personally has given "tens of thousands" to the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the past 12 months.

Mr. Wolf co-hosted a dinner and event at a carpet and furniture store in New York last month, where guests paid $35,800 a plate and "we had to turn people away who wanted to come," he said. Among those attending were billionaire hedge-funder Marc Lasry, banker Blair Effron and Roger Altman, the Evercore co-founder and former Clinton cabinet member.

Common Sense Review

I find the conflict of interest and with the President’s bold and profound statements of not misleading the citizens …. Oh wait, this president will not be known as “Honest Barack”…

Yet it is interesting when the President is encouraging congress to pass the “Buffet Rule” (tax the rich), but he is friends are these rich people. So what is the catch…

First, Pres, Obama stated when he was campaigning for the office, he pledge to not have lobbyist at the White House…

The Pres. has excoriated the wealthy to the point were he praised Senate who talked down to the CEO of the Auto Companies at the Senate hearing for flying their corporate jet to DC to attend the hearings…

I have seen this scenario more than once and it reminds me of the movie “Transformers 3-D” where a character states “it is better to be the right hand of the devil, then in his way”.