Fresh from his victory on landmark healthcare legislation, United States President Barack Obama is ready to take on Wall Street.
In the same week Obama signed into law his sweeping healthcare plan, his administration began a publicity blitz to sell his proposal to reshape the financial regulatory system.
Obama held a strategy session on Wednesday with two Democrats, senate banking committee chairperson Christopher Dodd and House of Representatives financial services committee chairperson Barney Frank, who are leading the effort to pass the plan in Congress.
Democrats hope the healthcare win will lend momentum to the push on financial reform, an issue the White House hopes will be a political winner as the party seeks to stave off potential losses in the November congressional elections.
"The good news is that, whereas the Republican message machine managed to convince a lot of Americans that the healthcare Bill was bad for them, I think they will have a harder time with the financial reform," said Princeton University Professor Alan Blinder. "Rightly or wrongly, everybody hates Wall Street and the banks right now."
The White House has sought to tap into public fury over Wall Street's excesses to push its case for financial reform.
Carroll Doherty, an associate director at the Pew Research Centre, said that anger at big financial companies cuts across the party lines of Republicans, Democrats and independents.
A Pew Research poll in February showed that while Republicans are less supportive than Democrats of tougher financial regulations, 67% of Republicans held an unfavourable view of major banks. That was almost as high as the 72% of Democrats who felt that way.
Obama, who last year lashed out at the big bonuses of "fat cat" bankers, devoted his Saturday radio and internet address to financial regulation.
In the same week Obama signed into law his sweeping healthcare plan, his administration began a publicity blitz to sell his proposal to reshape the financial regulatory system.
Obama held a strategy session on Wednesday with two Democrats, senate banking committee chairperson Christopher Dodd and House of Representatives financial services committee chairperson Barney Frank, who are leading the effort to pass the plan in Congress.
Democrats hope the healthcare win will lend momentum to the push on financial reform, an issue the White House hopes will be a political winner as the party seeks to stave off potential losses in the November congressional elections.
"The good news is that, whereas the Republican message machine managed to convince a lot of Americans that the healthcare Bill was bad for them, I think they will have a harder time with the financial reform," said Princeton University Professor Alan Blinder. "Rightly or wrongly, everybody hates Wall Street and the banks right now."
The White House has sought to tap into public fury over Wall Street's excesses to push its case for financial reform.
Carroll Doherty, an associate director at the Pew Research Centre, said that anger at big financial companies cuts across the party lines of Republicans, Democrats and independents.
A Pew Research poll in February showed that while Republicans are less supportive than Democrats of tougher financial regulations, 67% of Republicans held an unfavourable view of major banks. That was almost as high as the 72% of Democrats who felt that way.
Obama, who last year lashed out at the big bonuses of "fat cat" bankers, devoted his Saturday radio and internet address to financial regulation.
