Opinion: Updated: Before their fall, Wall Street titans spent big on Barack Obama, John McCain, other pols
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As Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers shrivel into history, Barack Obama, John McCain and many other politicians are calling for more Wall Street regulation.
Perhaps campaign donations shelled out by both firms had something to do with the current state of the law.
Before being taken over by Bank of America, Merrill executives and employees had contributed almost $2.1 million to federal candidates and parties since the start of 2007, according to Federal Election Commission records, gleaned from Congressional Quarterly’s Moneyline database.
Lehman employees, seeking bankruptcy protection, added $1.9 million.
Insurance giant AIG, a third firm reeling under the weight of bad mortgage loans, kicked in $664,000.
Not surprisingly, Obama and McCain took in top dollar from the three firms: $625,409 for Obama and $579,000 for McCain. Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden, received another $48,975.
There were no contributions listed for McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, for a simple reason: She never before sought federal office.
McCain has at least three major volunteer fundraisers who bundle donations from others on Wall Street and environs. McCain voluntarily discloses the occupations of his bundlers. Obama does not.
Merrill Chief Executive, John Thain, is among McCain’s bundlers and has donated $32,700 to various McCain-related committees. Thain’s predecessor, Stanley O’Neal, was a $2,300 Obama donor.
Other major recipients in 2007-2008 include Sen. Hillary Clinton ($516,750), former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani ($340,550), and Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd ($195,300).
Many Wall Street donors, such as Lehman Chief Executive Richard S. Fuld, gave to both sides, $2,300 to Obama and the same to McCain.
Fuld also gave $10,000 to the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee and $10,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He gave most of his donations in 2007, back when times weren’t quite so tough.
[UPDATE]: Obama spokesman Ben Labolt charged that McCain has taken money from political action committees representing the financial services and insurance industries, while Obama has refused such money in the presidential campaign.
‘Obama has consistently called for stepped up oversight of our financial markets to prevent the crisis that we face today,’ Labolt said.
-- Dan Morain