It does not matter whether today’s pronouncement on financial reform by President Obama was prompted by Tuesday’s election disaster in Massachusetts or was a long-building unleashing of his inner populist. What matters is the potential for real White House leadership on changes that must happen if we are to have a stable, growing economy on Main Street. This is the fight for which we have to bandage our wounds and pick ourselves up to win.
All you have to do is look at the Wall Street reaction to Obama’s short speech today to get a sense of what’s at stake. The reaction, on business news sites such asCNBC, borders on hysterical. “His ideas to put a straightjacket [sic] on the banks and the key to funders of business in this country will once again be a growth killer,” harrumphs Chip Hanlon, president of Delta Global Advisors in Huntington Beach, Calif. and the proprietor of the right-wing website RedCounty.com. continue reading