Research Briefing

Obama’s “Wall Street Guy”

President Obama: Corzine Is “Our Wall Street Guy.” “The rollout also provided a showcase for Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs CEO whom Obama referred to as ‘our Wall Street guy’ at a meeting of Democratic governors in Chicago on Friday.” (Claire Heininger, “Corzine Profile Rises In Obama Camp,” The Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/23/08)

• Obama: “First of all, I'm going to have a lot to say about this guy, but I just want everybody to know that one of my earliest supporters, somebody who had faith and confidence in me before I was a United States senator was the man standing next to me right here -- Jon Corzine.” (President Barack Obama, “Remarks By The President At Luncheon Fundraiser With Governor Jon Corzine,” Holmdel, New Jersey, 7/16/09)
• Obama: “I'm among a lot of friends and I, first of all, obviously want to thank Jon and Sharon for hosting us in this extraordinary venue.  These guys have been just great friends from the start. Some of you know that Jon was a big supporter of mine in my first U.S. Senate race when nobody could pronounce my name.” (President Barack Obama, “Remarks By The President At A DNC Event, New York, New York, 4/28/11)

In The Early Days Of The Obama Administration, Biden “Literally” Called Jon Corzine For Advice On The Economy Because “He Knew About The Economy … And We Trusted His Judgment.” “‘I literally picked up the phone and called Jon Corzine and said Jon, what do you think we should do,’ Biden said. ‘The reason we called Jon is that we knew that he knew about the economy, about world markets, how we had to respond, unlike almost anyone we knew. It was because he had been in the pit -- because he had been in the furnace. And we trusted his judgment.’ (Conor Friedersdorf, “Obama’s Team Relied On Jon Corzine For Economic Advice,” The Atlantic, 11/14/11)

• Watch Biden Say The Obama Team Relied On Corzine For Economic Advice

Corzine Helped Craft The Stimulus

President Obama: “Jon Corzine wasn't just the first governor to pass an economic recovery plan for his state; he was an ally with the Obama administration in helping us develop a national recovery plan.” (President Obama, “Remarks By The President At New Jersey Rally For Governor Jon Corzine,” Holmdel, NJ, 7/16/09)

• Watch Obama’s Comments Here

Vice President Biden: “It’s not coincidental that that’s what the Recovery Act is. Jon Corzine helped craft the Recovery Act. It’s not coincidental that the things he did here turned out to be the exact same things the recovery act has because way back in the transition period before we were sworn in, when Barack Obama and I were literally sitting at a desk in a high rise in Chicago beginning to plan how we would try to get this economy out of a ditch, literally the first guy I called was Jon Corzine. Not a joke. Not a joke. Because first of all, he’s the smartest guy I know in terms of the economy and on finance.” (Vice President Biden, Speech In New Jersey, 5/7/11)

• Biden: “If you need any evidence of whether or not what I’m telling you is accurate, look at the recovery efforts of New Jersey and you can mirror them, they just fall right on top of what we’re doing. And so Jon, thank you, thank you, thank you.” (Vice President Biden, Speech In New Jersey, 5/7/11)

• Watch Biden Say That Corzine “Helped Craft” The Stimulus

Read The Rest Of The 12-Page Briefing Book Here