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Obama Rides Populism's Tides

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The New York Times

Published: March 22, 2009

WASHINGTON - To win the White House, President Barack Obama grew adept at navigating obstacles. But few of those challenges tested his communication and political skills as much as this past week's outbreak of populism, in which he sought to contain, control and, finally, channel the searing outrage over bonuses paid by companies being kept afloat by the government. Along the way, he turned to anger. "I don't want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry. I'm angry," Obama said.

He essentially suggested Americans follow his lead: Let off some steam and move on, a strategy he hopes will prevent the disgust over the AIG bonuses from derailing his agenda and broader economic concerns.

OBAMA MOVES ON

FEDERAL BUDGET: Obama said Saturday that people are more concerned about having a paycheck and being able to pay college or medical bills than they are about "the news of the day in Washington."

Those are the concerns, he said, that he addresses in his budget.

He said the specific dollar amounts in his budget plan probably will change, but in the end his four priorities - boost investments in clean energy technologies; more money for childhood education programs, affordable college costs and higher standards for schools; a health care overhaul that will lower costs, including of Medicare and Medicaid; and a scrutiny on domestic spending that will lead to cuts in the deficit - must be met.

GETTING HIS MESSAGE OUT: Obama is relying on direct appeals to the public to refocus attention on his ambitious agenda and to drive the debate.

The president has shouldered responsibility for the mess and, in his radio and Web address Saturday, sought to put the financial finger- pointing behind in favor of his policy pillars.

He will use a flurry of events to make his case, including a network television interview airing today and a prime-time news conference Tuesday.

AIG LINGERS

CONNECTICUT QUESTIONS: Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said documents turned over to his office by AIG appear to show that the company paid $53 million more in bonuses to its financial products division than previously reported. AIG declined to comment.

AIG had previously disclosed that the company was contractually obligated to pay a total of about $165 million of previously awarded retention pay to employees in the financial products unit by March 15.

TOUR OF OUTRAGE: A busload of activists representing working- and middle-class families paid visits Saturday to the lavish homes of American International Group executives to protest the bonuses.

TREASURY MANEUVERS

GEITHNER'S FUTURE: The besieged secretary of the Treasury gets a strong vote of confidence from Obama in a TV interview to be broadcast today.

In a session with "60 Minutes" interviewer Steve Kroft, Obama says if Timothy Geithner were to tender his resignation, he would tell him, "Sorry, buddy, you've still got the job."

The president stressed that neither he nor Geithner has mentioned resignation.

BANK RESCUE: The Treasury Department intends to create a government body, called the Public Investment Corp., to finance the purchase of as much as $1 trillion in soured loans and toxic assets from ailing banks.

The plan calls for the entity to combine its resources with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve and private investors to buy those loans and other assets. But the government will put far more money into the deals and take on more risk than the investors. The corporation will be funded with $75 billion to $100 billion from the $700 billion financial rescue package.

OBAMA MOVES ON

AIG LINGERS

TREASURY MANEUVERS

Information from The Associated Press, McClatchy-Tribune, The Washington Post, The New York Times and Los Angeles Times was used in this report.

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