Greenwald: "Getting real tough with the bankers"

Glenn Greenwald:

The perception that the Obama administration has been subservient to Wall Street is probably the single greatest political vulnerability the Democrats face.

The President spent the last couple of days saying some really mean things about bankers (he said he didn't get elected to help the "fat cats"), and he has now summoned them for a meeting at the White House, where he's going to explain their moral duty to help the public after the public (i.e., the Government) did so much to help them. Digby is somewhat skeptical of this spectacle:

It's nice that the president is going to scold these people about not being greedy bastards, but I'm fairly sure that after everything that's already happened, the bankers will be trying hard to keep from smirking and the rest of the country will roll its collective eyes at the absurdity of appealing to their sense of gratitude and fair play. It's just a little bit late for anyone to take finger wagging seriously, I'm afraid.

Everyone can decide for themselves how credible a threat Obama, Tim Geithner, Larry Summers and friends will ever pose to Wall Street, but at least some of the bankers don't seem to be taking it very seriously:

So expect a healthy dose of political posturing before, during and after the President's meeting with top bankers Monday. "It's a p.r. stunt," says an executive at one of the banks that will be getting a dressing-down at the White House meeting. Executives from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are expected to be among those in attendance.

One of thee most revealing aspects of the bailout was that it was justified by the increased lending it would enable, yet contained no requirement that the funds be used for that. And, of course, they weren't.

One can say many things about these bankers, but they're typically quite perceptive about matters of self-interest. They don't exactly seem frightened -- or even remotely concerned -- by the presidential "dressing down" they're about to receive. In fact, they seem to think it's all a sham for public consumption. I wonder why they think that.

Howie P.S.: Astute observers will note that there is no question mark at the end of the last sentence.