Foot in Mouth

Obama Doesn’t ‘Begrudge’ Bonuses

For CEOs Dimon, Blankfein.

President Obama just can’t seem to make up his mind on how he feels about the banks. After taking a tough tack with them for weeks, Obama now says he doesn’t “begrudge” J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein their respective $17 million and $9 million bonuses. “I know both those guys; they are very savvy businessmen,” Obama said in the interview with BusinessWeek. “I, like most of the American people, don’t begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free- market system.” He added, “there are some baseball players who are making more than that and don’t get to the World Series either, so I’m shocked by that as well.”