Obama can you hear me?

During the 2008 presidential campaign, a popular method of discussing the financial crisis was to highlight the competing interests of two parties: wall street and main street. Now unless you are very comfortably wealthy and/or an actual stock broker on Wall street, you would probably claim to be part of the main street faction. This is of course where the large majority of Americans are in terms of socioeconomic status. The Presidential candidates obviously used this Wall street/main street rhetoric to remind on-the-fence voters where their allegiance lied. After all, don't we all want a President of, by, and for the people? Of course we do. Now such a strategy in and of itself is all well and good, but the reality of the situation appears to contradict the sentiment that both candidates were trying to convey.

I am an Obama supporter. I believe that he is a charismatic, thoughtful, and inspiring leader for our country. At first glance, Obama's entire existence seems to be polar opposite to our former president, who not only damaged our standing in the world both morally and monetarily, but embarrassed us and himself on an almost nightly basis with verbal gaffes and feats of immense ignorance. Indeed, our last two presidents couldn't seem more different from each other. Despite this sharp dichotomy, Obama and Bush share one common friend: big business.

It's been months and months since we were staring economic disaster in the face. A financial industry stripped of any meaningful regulations had been running wild, playing by their own rules, and sucking dry the incomes and savings of struggling American families. Quick question: do you know what a credit default swap is? If you don't, you're certainly not alone. And I won't waste my time trying to explain it. To a wealthy Wall street investor, the beauty of something like a CDS is in its complexity. The average Joe out on main street (wherever that may be) doesn't have the time or mental dexterity to wrap his head around such an abstract concept. He knows something is flawed with our financial system, but putting it into words is a near impossibility. And thats just fine by Wall street.

As someone who voted for Obama expecting change, I am pretty disappointed that over a year into his Presidency, he has yet to put in place any new government regulations that could curb the brazen and irresponsible actions of companies that have been pegged, "too big to fail." And as much as I'd like to see Obama in the White House for eight years, I'd really rather have him stay true to his ideals on important issues and not pay so much attention to the political unrest it may cause. It seems that these days, political leaders are in constant campaign mode. Controversial issues that need to be dealt with immediately are put off for a later time, when the potential backlash they cause won't damage an elected official's chance for re-election. Obama campaigned for and won the Presidency on promises of being a true representative of the people. Every single day we have our wallets and purses picked. Wall street or main street - Mr. President, it's time to pick a side.