It is well documented that Wall Street was deeply offended by Obama's "fat cat" comments after he was elected President, so much so, that longtime Democratic supporters have shifted their support to the GOP for the next election.
In fact, some Wall Streeters even alleged that at an even more basic level, Obama just doesn't like rich people.
But apparently the disdain for Bam on the Street may be mostly appearances.
According to Andrew Ross Sorkin at Dealbook,
While many of the biggest name financiers feel that they can’t publicly support Mr. Obama through campaign contributions the way they did in 2008 — “it would be bad for business,” one brand-name chief executive of a major bank acknowledged — some still plan to vote for him.
There's also a consensus among financiers that the President's "bark has been worse than his bite" and that more than anything, it's kind of embarrassing to root publicly for the guy at this stage, but privately, they're reluctant fans:
“Obama hasn’t been too bad to banks. He could have been worse,” said a top executive at one of the nation’s largest banks, a big supporter in the past who decided against attending the dinner because he did not want his colleagues and clients to see him supporting the president.
Other factors that work in Obama's favor, according to what bankers are telling Sorkin:
The GOP field is too narrow, with candidates like Michele Bachmann "not taken seriously or are too socially conservative for Wall Street."
His recruitment of former JP Morgan executive, Bill Daley, is a good signal to big business. (Obama knows this, and has dispatched him, along with campaign manager Jim Messina to recruit Wall Street bundlers).
Since the midterms his "obnoxious" rhetoric has all but dissipated
Let's not forget, Obama managed to raise $2.3 million in one night from financier donors last week.
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