Obama needs to cut his Wall Street tag

By E.J. Dionne Jr.
WashPost
Thursday, January 14, 2010

If you held a contest to pick the worst thing a politician could be called at this moment, my nominee would be Wall Street Liberal.

That label has everything. I personally despise the way the noble liberal idea has been devalued, but face it: Conservatives have had great success in discrediting liberalism, to the point that most liberals dare not call themselves by their own name.

And what institutions are held in lower esteem right now than those represented by the words "Wall Street"? The left has always disliked Wall Street. Populists of all stripes have gone after financiers since the days of Andrew Jackson. And the right can cast Wall Streeters as the recipients of Washington's largess. Oh, yes, and they were the highfliers who tanked the American economy.

Put "Wall Street" with "liberal" and: bang! About the only more unpopular combination I can think of is high-cholesterol broccoli.

(More here.)