Dodd should have held his ground, but any Republican who now is bitching about those caps being removed needs to look at his own words and actions from just a few weeks ago. Short memories. Three weeks ago they were accusing Dodd of trying to destroy capitalism by capping executive pay. Sure Dodd ought to hold tough against this President, like the Republicans did against Bush for the last eight years. Oh, yeah…

Dodd has a lot of dirt on his hands, esepcially when it comes to banks, but he did try to do what was right this time, and Obama should be ashamed for accusing him of being responsible for those bonuses. Obama and Geithner demanded exemptions from executive pay caps. They are responsible for this entire mess.

Geithner said he did all he could legally to stop the bonuses – but also hinted strongly that he actually knew something about the bonuses earlier than previously disclosed.

“And as soon as I heard about the full scale of these things, we moved very actively to explore every possible avenue — legal avenue to address this problem, to make sure that, again, the assistance we were providing was not going to unduly benefit these people,” Geithner said, according to a transcript provided by CNN.

So this scandal now turns on what the definition of “full” is…………sad. Of course Geitner knew, this whole outrage week by the Adminstration starting on Saturday afternoon with choice leaks to the NYT is a Axelrod counterspin construction. EVERYONE in the business and media world knew of the AIG Exec bonuses from the 10Q’s in Nov 08 and the CNN/Bloomberg coverage of AIG bonuses to the Financial Products Division in Jan 09:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=auhzcUg60VZA&refer=home

AIG Said to Offer $1 Billion in Retention to Workers (Update1)

By Hugh Son

Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) — American International Group Inc., the insurer saved from collapse last year by government money, may have committed more than $1 billion to employees to keep them from leaving the company.

About 400 workers at New York-based AIG’s financial products unit may get $450 million in two installments, said two people familiar with the situation who declined to be identified because the plan is confidential. That is in addition to about $619 million in retention pay going to 4,200 executives and employees at subsidiaries including life insurance.

AIG is trying to hold onto employees while it sells businesses to repay a government loan. The insurer took a federal bailout in September after the financial-products unit, which sold credit-default swaps that plunged in value amid the housing market collapse, caused about $34 billion in writedowns. AIG said the program was disclosed before the government rescue, which is now valued at $150 billion.

“I was extremely disappointed — but not surprised — to learn that AIG will be awarding bonuses to the very division that drove the company into the ground,” said Representative Elijah Cummings, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, in an e-mail. AIG shouldn’t be awarding “millions of unmerited dollars to employees while at the same time begging the U.S. government for financial life support.”

The fact that “Ali” at CNN didnt press Geitner with quotes from HIS OWN NETWORK and Bloomberg from Jan 09 is a disgrace.

And as a final bonus, from the AP re Obama’s “outrage” when he learned “last week” about the AIG bonuses…what, the President and Leader of the Free World doesnt watch CNN or read Bloomberg, nor does any of the hundreds of economic analysts and advisors who work for him? This is pure Axelrod counterspin lies.

BURBANK, Calif. – President Barack Obama has told Jay Leno he was stunned when he learned of the bonuses that bailed-out insurance giant AIG was paying its employees.

But Obama added the bigger problem is the culture that allowed traders to claim them. He says that’s got to change if the economy is to recover.

According to NBC, Obama was the first sitting president ever to appear on “The Tonight Show.” He’d already appeared twice as a candidate. already appeared twice as a candidate.

In his opening monologue, Leno lots of people were surprised Obama would come on NBC — figuring he’d be tired of big companies on the brink of disaster with a bunch of overpaid executives.

Leno also joked about the dismal state of the economy, saying it’s so bad Obama flew to California on Southwest Airways — making nine stops.

Several trillion dollars apparently vanished from the global economy recently with a puff of smoke.

Ask your Messiah where it is, goofy. He and Bush and Cheney have apparently squirreled it away. Too bad, bot. But your dreams of avarice will have to wait for another chosen one. Next time, try to pay attention and not fall for the man with the golden tongue and lead brain.

LMAO at gullible children.

If financial concerns stopped hoarding the cash they’ve already been given, the newly printed trillion might never go into circulation.