Hey, Obama - what about the Chamber's US donors?

The U.S. Chamber has plenty of problems with U.S. donors without Preznit Kumbaya invoking the specter of Chinese money buying influence. Dow Chemical buying lobbying to try to prevent tighter rules on chemical facilities, for example.

So why doesn't Team Obama discuss THAT? Probably because, as the one wing of the bipartisan duopoly, it gets its "fair share" of campaign cash from many of these companies. Remember, Obama opted out of public financing of his presidential campaign, with a bigger share of his cash than John McCain's coming from Wall Street.

In light of that, here's another big Chamber donor. Prudential Financial gave $2 million to the Chamber last year to fund its lobbying effort against elements of the financial regulation bill in Congress. Considering the watered-down final result, it was probably worth it for Pru. And, with Obama's rhetoric gone by the boards, it will probably be worth it for him in 2012, too. Other major bankster donors include (shock) Goldman Sachs and AIG. Both of them, directly or indirectly "made whole" by Little Timmy Geithner in the TARP bailout, and sheltered, in Goldman's case, in the financial reform bill, will also probably be $uitably grateful to Obama in 2012.

And Congressional Democrats did nothing to push significant campaign finance reform of legislative elections.