Is Goldman Sachs Obama's Enron?

Meredith Jessup | April 20, 2010 5:35 PM

That's an interesting question the Washington Examiner's J.P. Friere delved into today. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, campaign contributions from Goldman Sachs employees to President Obama's presidential election fund dwarfed donations from Enron workers to George W. Bush by seven times.

We all remember how the press ripped the Bush administration for its ties to Enron during its accounting scandal in early 2001. But given Obama's ties to Goldman Sachs--and those of his administration--how will his relationship compare? Will it receive the same scrutiny?

I doubt it, but it's nevertheless an interesting point to ponder. Friere adds:

But the mere $151,722.42 (inflation adjusted) in contributions from Enron-affiliated executives, employees, and PACs to Bush hardly add up to Obama's $1,007,370.85 (inflation adjusted) from Goldman-affiliated executives and employees. That's also not taking into account how much Goldman contributed to Obama cabinet member Hillary Clinton ($415,595.63 inflation adjusted), which was itself almost three times as much as Bush received as well.
It would be fair to say that the total amount the Obama administration has received from those affiliated with Goldman Sachs is ten times that of what Bush received from Enron.

Now that Goldman Sachs is being sued for civil fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will Obama return the money or return the favor?