Wall Street Bankers, Reelection Backers
The Bush administration had given the bankers almost everything they ever dreamed of: a reduction in dividend and capital-gains taxes, a phase-out of the estate tax, an overall reduction in income taxes. So they waited patiently, eager do whatever they could to ensure the president's reelection.
"Wall Street runs on a good economy and the president has given us that," said Mallory Factor, a merchant banker who was among those on the boat. "Then you look at the alternatives on the other side. Either one of those things is enough to make you support the president."
And that's just what Wall Street has done, to an unprecedented extent. Unlike in 2000, when the industry hedged its bets between Bush and Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites), Wall Street thus far has put the bulk of its muscle behind the Republican incumbent.
The Bush campaign is not eager to discuss the enthusiastic support it is receiving from Wall Street. Spokesman Scott Stanzel declined to discuss the matter, saying only that the president had raised money from "nearly half a million supporters representing every county in every state." The list of "Rangers," who have raised at least $200,000 each for Bush, reads like a roster of Wall Street power brokers. It includes the chief executives of Merrill Lynch & Co., UBS Wealth Management USA, Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. and insurance giant American International Group Inc.
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