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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Obama raps AIG for big bonus. Our CDC? </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">1:44 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 3) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>9880.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Obama: I'll take blame for AIG fallout
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>President moves to contain political damage and protect Geithner </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Bhagyashree Garekar, US Correspondent
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has waded deep into the AIG bonuses row, owning personal responsibility as public outrage boiled over and sparked calls for his beleaguered Treasury Secretary to resign.
Walking a tightrope, he expressed his own outrage on Wednesday at the audacity of insurance giant AIG's decision to accept taxpayer-funded bailouts on the one hand and reward incompetent managers with millions in bonuses on the other.
At the same time, he attempted to shield Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner who is being blamed for failing to prevent the bonus payouts.
'Washington is all in a tizzy and everybody is pointing fingers at each other and saying it's their fault, the Democrats' fault, the Republicans' fault,' he said at a town hall meeting in California on Wednesday. 'Listen, I'll take responsibility. I'm the President.'
He added: 'For everybody in Washington who's busy scrambling, trying to figure out how to blame somebody else, just go ahead and talk to me, because it's my job to make sure that we fix these messes, even if I don't make them.'
American Insurance Group, which has received up to US$180 billion (S$271 billion) in government aid since last September, has come under fire after it was revealed that it paid US$165 million in bonuses, including to members of the unit that came up with the toxic derivative products that brought AIG to its knees and are crippling the financial system.
The controversy has infuriated Congressmen, been the subject of angry media commentaries and is threatening Mr Obama's efforts to rescue the US economy, not to mention his agenda on goals such as health care and global warming.
Mr Obama has ordered the Treasury to see if the payments could be blocked or recovered. Meanwhile, at least two Republican legislators have called for Mr Geithner's resignation as they demanded to know why he had not challenged the bonuses before approving US$30 billion of fresh federal aid to AIG this month.
Congressman Connie Mack said Mr Geithner 'should either resign or be fired for the good of the country' while House Minority Leader John Boehner described him as being 'on thin ice'.
Mr Obama reiterated his confidence in Mr Geithner, pointing out that he was not the one who drafted the contracts with AIG. 'He is making all the right moves in terms of playing a bad hand,' he added.
The Obama administration's timeline shows the Treasury Secretary learning of the bonus payout on March 10 and informing the White House on March 12. When the news broke publicly last weekend, the blame game began.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Democrat, pointed a finger at the Obama administration in self-defence.
Mr Dodd said he had intended to place curbs on executive compensation at the bailed-out companies in last month's US$787 billion stimulus package, but his provision was changed during negotiations between the House and Senate.
He said he had agreed to the changes that exempted bonuses already agreed upon in contracts, at the request of administration officials, without realising that he would be benefiting AIG. He did not name the officials who made the request.
As the Obama administration prepares to unveil bigger bailouts needed to fix the financial sector, the President has to tread a delicate line in identifying where his personal responsibility lies. If he presses too close to problems like the AIG row, he will hit a wall in convincing taxpayers to fund future bailouts. Yet if he stays aloof, the problems will taint his credibility and popularity, again compromising his ability to broach more bailouts and sell his ambitious programmes.
[email protected]
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>President moves to contain political damage and protect Geithner </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Bhagyashree Garekar, US Correspondent
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has waded deep into the AIG bonuses row, owning personal responsibility as public outrage boiled over and sparked calls for his beleaguered Treasury Secretary to resign.
Walking a tightrope, he expressed his own outrage on Wednesday at the audacity of insurance giant AIG's decision to accept taxpayer-funded bailouts on the one hand and reward incompetent managers with millions in bonuses on the other.
At the same time, he attempted to shield Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner who is being blamed for failing to prevent the bonus payouts.
'Washington is all in a tizzy and everybody is pointing fingers at each other and saying it's their fault, the Democrats' fault, the Republicans' fault,' he said at a town hall meeting in California on Wednesday. 'Listen, I'll take responsibility. I'm the President.'
He added: 'For everybody in Washington who's busy scrambling, trying to figure out how to blame somebody else, just go ahead and talk to me, because it's my job to make sure that we fix these messes, even if I don't make them.'
American Insurance Group, which has received up to US$180 billion (S$271 billion) in government aid since last September, has come under fire after it was revealed that it paid US$165 million in bonuses, including to members of the unit that came up with the toxic derivative products that brought AIG to its knees and are crippling the financial system.
The controversy has infuriated Congressmen, been the subject of angry media commentaries and is threatening Mr Obama's efforts to rescue the US economy, not to mention his agenda on goals such as health care and global warming.
Mr Obama has ordered the Treasury to see if the payments could be blocked or recovered. Meanwhile, at least two Republican legislators have called for Mr Geithner's resignation as they demanded to know why he had not challenged the bonuses before approving US$30 billion of fresh federal aid to AIG this month.
Congressman Connie Mack said Mr Geithner 'should either resign or be fired for the good of the country' while House Minority Leader John Boehner described him as being 'on thin ice'.
Mr Obama reiterated his confidence in Mr Geithner, pointing out that he was not the one who drafted the contracts with AIG. 'He is making all the right moves in terms of playing a bad hand,' he added.
The Obama administration's timeline shows the Treasury Secretary learning of the bonus payout on March 10 and informing the White House on March 12. When the news broke publicly last weekend, the blame game began.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Democrat, pointed a finger at the Obama administration in self-defence.
Mr Dodd said he had intended to place curbs on executive compensation at the bailed-out companies in last month's US$787 billion stimulus package, but his provision was changed during negotiations between the House and Senate.
He said he had agreed to the changes that exempted bonuses already agreed upon in contracts, at the request of administration officials, without realising that he would be benefiting AIG. He did not name the officials who made the request.
As the Obama administration prepares to unveil bigger bailouts needed to fix the financial sector, the President has to tread a delicate line in identifying where his personal responsibility lies. If he presses too close to problems like the AIG row, he will hit a wall in convincing taxpayers to fund future bailouts. Yet if he stays aloof, the problems will taint his credibility and popularity, again compromising his ability to broach more bailouts and sell his ambitious programmes.
[email protected]
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