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| Corzine's Wall Street Résumé Loses Value for Voters |
| 2009-10-05 |
| Today, New Jersey's economy is reeling, Goldman Sachs's luster has dulled and Mr. Corzine's greatest asset has become a political liability as he struggles to keep his job in November's election. Goldman has been particularly vilified in the minds of many people as a Wall Street behemoth that leveraged the influence of its lobbyists and former executives to curry political favor and that used government bailout payments to boost its profits. A recent article in Rolling Stone magazine branded Goldman "a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money." "Goldman right now, to its detriment, is equated with Wall Street and Washington walking hand in hand, and there's a widespread suspicion that it's a conspiratorial relationship," said Charles Geisst, a Wall Street historian and the author of "Collateral Damaged." "There's a sense that because of its power and connections, when the economy finally clears up, Goldman will benefit from that before the rest of the country." Mr. Corzine's Republican challenger, Christopher J. Christie, has used the governor's Goldman Sachs years to tie him to a variety of unsavory financial schemes, at one point releasing an Internet ad featuring a clip of Gordon Gekko, the villain in the film "Wall Street," who famously declared, "Greed is good." And surveys show that voters' confidence in Mr. Corzine's ability to lead the economy, once his strong suit, has plummeted. So as he runs for re-election Mr. Corzine is far more eager to talk about the lawsuit his administration filed against Lehman Brothers or his work as a United States senator on a corporate ethics bill, than his years as chief executive and a chairman of a mighty investment house. His campaign advisers point out that it's been nine years -- an eternity in politics -- since he left Wall Street and four years since he sold the last of his stock in Goldman Sachs; they say they are confident that voters will judge him by his actions as an elected official rather than his past as a bond trader. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Rolling Stone magazine branded Goldman "a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money." Is this different than what Rolling Stoned usually says? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2009-10-05 16:40 |