"Business As Usual" from Bill Moyers Journal:

[amborin]

Kuttner and Taibbi discussing HCR, etc...on Bill Moyers:

The other way you can do it is to try to rally the people against the special interests and play on the fact that the insurance industry, the drug industry are not going to win any popularity contests with the American people. And you, as the president be the champion of the people against the special interests. That's the course that Obama's chosen not to pursue.

Most people that I've talked to have taken one of two positions on this. One is that Obama was naïve, that he doesn't know a whole lot about the financial services industry, and he felt the need to rely upon people who'd been there before, people who've had these jobs before, and you know, who have this expertise.

And there's another school of thought that look, he took more money from Wall Street than any other presidential candidate in history. Goldman Sachs was his number one private campaign contributor. And if you just look at the evidence, it's just really business as usual. This is what the Democratic Party has done since the mid-'80s. They've relied heavily on the financial services industry to fund their campaigns. And it's the quid pro quo. They gave a lot of money to help these guys run, and in return, they get the big jobs, you know, in the White House.

"But, despite the immense power of Wall Street, Kuttner still believes that meaningful financial reform is possible, and that President Obama could change course, "I think there is a chance — I don't think I would bet my life on it — but I think there's a possibility that by the fall of 2010, looking down the barrel of a real election blowout, you could see him change course, if only for reasons of expediency, but hopefully for reasons of principle as well, if he feels that the public doesn't have confidence that he is delivering the kind of recovery that the public needs. This is a guy who is a very smart, complicated man. And I think don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin. I don't want to totally give up."

<http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/12182009/profile.html>