Obama's Jamie Dimon Praise Wasn't Because He's a Customer
No, we don't think Barack Obama praised Jamie Dimon Tuesday simply because the president banks with him, but that's still where our mind went upon learning the president has a Chase checking account worth $500,000 to $1 million. That fact was the first thing most journalists tweeted on seeing the president and vice president's financial disclosure reports on the White House website Tuesday, probably because it's the first line of the president's report.
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But it's going to be tempting for conspiracy types to link the president's sizable checking account with his comments on The View that JPMorgan Chase was "one of the best managed banks" and Dimon "one of the smartest bankers we've got." But let's just nip that in the bud right now: Yes, the account is larger than the FDIC insurance limit, but the $2 billion stakes are so much higher in the JPMorgan Chase fiasco that Obama's account is of little or no concern. Plus, if the president wants to do things like intervene in banks' troubles, he does it through programs like TARP, not chats on daytime television. If you're looking for a more entertaining fact to take away from the financial reports, you'll find it in Vice President Joe Biden's, which CBS's Mark Knoller points out "shows his 2007 book, 'Promises To Keep,' produced less than $201 in royalties, which report labels 'None.' " Poor guy.
