Don't Blame Me, I Didn't Elect Him

Seems like now that the American people own 80% of AIG, it' s fair to ask our elected leaders if they really understand how to run an insurance company, and if they really understood what was in the stimulus bill. If indeed the controversial bonuses are contractual obligations, the President's public statements are a mess. See the language below, written in closed session and signed into law by the President:

From page H1412 of the Final Stimulus Bill, “SEC. 111. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: “(iii) The prohibition required under clause (i) shall not be construed to prohibit any bonus payment required to be paid pursuant to a written employment contract executed on or before February 11, 2009, as such valid employment contracts are determined by the Secretary or the designee of the Secretary.” This amendment provides an exception for contractually obligated bonuses agreed on before Feb. 11, 2009, which exempts the very AIG bonuses Obama is condemning every single chance he gets. The amendment is in the final version and is law. The provision was inserted in conference committee by Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), one of the biggest beneficiaries of political contributions from AIG. Another of the biggest recipients was the Obama campaign, which took about $100,000 from AIG, according to several published reports. All of this does start to look a bit like a smokescreen, doesn't it? The same guys who took campaign money from AIG appear to have added language protecting AIG executives - and now that it's public, the fake outrage is really laughable. All the while, the parties continue at the White House. Apparently our new President is unable to even communicate with partygoers without his now-famous teleprompter. Laughable.

The Prez said of AIG: "This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed," Obama told a group of small business owners. "I mean, how do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?"

Well Mr. President, they probably started by following the law you signed into effect.

And if (and it's still an if) the bonuses are contractually protected, the reality is that contracts are part of the basic rule of law. However odious and hateful the creeps who receive them are. If we want "revenge", attorneys general should go after AIG decision makers instead.