Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Freedom to Wade in Dirty D.C. Waters


President elect Barack Obama appointed Rep. Rahm Emanuel as his future White House Chief of Staff. Rahm introduced Barack at this year's AIPAC meeting. Oddly, Mr. Emmanuel didn't clarify his role as civilian volunteer in the Israeli military. During the first Gulf War, Mr. Emanuel worked on Israeli Army military vehicles. Obama's appointment of "IDF tough" Rahm indicates Barack has not yet extricated himself from those dirty D.C. waters. Below is a list of Mr. Emanuel's top contributors. They have a distinctly Wall Street vs. Main Street flavor. As you peruse the list, note the presence of the bailout boys, as well as numerous private equity underwriters (PEU's).

Congressman Rahm Emanuel
2008 Election Cycle
Contributor Total

UBS AG $63,700
AT&T Inc $49,950
Blackstone Group $47,000
JPMorgan Chase & Co $45,700
Grosvenor Capital Management $38,900
Goldman Sachs $32,950
Citigroup Inc $28,500
Lehman Brothers $27,600
National Amusements Inc $26,900
Texas Pacific Group $23,000
Merrill Lynch $20,800
Mf Global $20,400
CME Group $19,650
Carlyle Group $16,250
Morgan Stanley $16,200
Evercore Partners $16,100
Madison Dearborn Partners $16,100
Bank of America $16,000
Kirkland & Ellis $15,500
Bailey Perrin Bailey LLP $13,800
Eton Park Capital Management $13,800

Get out of the pool, Barack! It's the same filthy water you mentioned early in your campaign. Last night, you asked the public to keep you clean in your inspirational acceptance speech. I'm complying. Don't ask, if you don't want to be told. It doesn't look like that "new dawn of American leadership" has broken.

Note 3-17-12:  Two of Rahm's largest donors went bankrupt, Lehman & MF Global.