VOL. 4 NO. 84 POLITIwednesday, June 16, 2010 CO www..com

Reforming Wall Street A POLITICO VIDEO SERIES Election Hopes Lincoln Give Reid New Stands by Life as Leader Derivatives Talk of succession recedes as Language Sharron Angle appears beatable By Ma n u Raj u a n d Jo h n Br e s n a h a n By Mi k e Al l e n ’s allies finally found an accomplice Senate Agriculture Commit- to help quash the not-so-subtle whisper campaign tee Chairman Blanche Lincoln about who will replace him as majority leader: his (D-Ark.) says she’ll “fight hard” to opponent, Sharron Angle. preserve a passage she authored Now that Angle looks eminently beatable in the in the Wall Street reform bill to fall, Reid is being treated less like an eccentric old crack down on derivatives, the uncle on life support and more like a Senate majority loosely regulated securities that leader with long-term staying power. traders use to manage risk. AP In the private corridors of the Senate, the conver- “I’m going to fight hard for what President uses forceful rhetoric in Oval Office speech addressing oil spill. sation has already shifted. I think is very good language,” Lin- Instead of gossiping about how Sens. Chuck coln said in an interview for the Schumer and Dick Durbin might position them- POLITICO video series “Reform- selves for majority leader, senators and aides who ing Wall Street.” “In this financial Turning the Page spoke with POLITICO are already asking different crisis, we saw that there was an questions. Would Reid stay as majority leader for awful lot of greed and an ability Obama takes tougher tone on BP — but is it too late? six more years? Or would he hold onto the title for a for big investment banks to be couple of years, then help handpick his replacement? undercapitalized — and, unfortu- By Gl e n n Th r u s h Obama was blunt: “But make no mis- And might he grab a powerful chairmanship down nately, leave both depositors and take. We will fight this spill with every- the road? taxpayers holding the bag for the Presidents often save an Oval Office thing we’ve got for as long it takes. We There’s no denying that Reid still trails in most risky deals that didn’t make it.” address for matters of war and peace, will make BP pay for the damage their Wall Street firms used deriva- and Barack Obama’s decision to speak company has caused. And we will do See reid on Page 24 tives to create complex, highly to the nation from behind his desk Tues- whatever’s necessary to help the Gulf profitable instruments — many day night seemed designed to convey a Coast and its people recover from this of which collapsed when the sub- leader on wartime footing. tragedy.” prime mortgage bubble burst. The But by raising the stakes so high — But while the rhetoric was command- fate of Lincoln’s language is one of and framing the environmental crisis ing and decisive, it remained unclear ex- the biggest remaining “X” factors as a “battle,” an “epidemic” and a “siege” actly which page Obama can turn to — in the legislation, as the House — Obama underscored the threat the with orange-brown crude still gushing and Senate scramble to recon- BP oil spill poses not only to the envi- uncontrollably into the Gulf, BP stag- cile their versions in an effort to ronment but to his own credibility as gering financially and comprehensive send the bill to President Barack president after nine weeks of failure, energy reform stalled in the Senate. Obama by the July 4 break. criticism and frustration. Obama heeded calls to show more Lincoln’s provision, which Tuesday night’s 18-minute address empathy in four visits to the Gulf, com- would force banks to spin off was less about feeling pain than ex- miserating with local officials and gob- their derivatives desks, pits her pressing anger and Obama’s rapid tran- bling Gulf seafood in a show of gastro- against the White House, finan- sition from cold to warm to hot in a nomic solidarity. Some say it’s about cial services heavyweights and month, culminating in the demand that time. key securities regulators. BP speedily pay legitimate claims to john shinkle — politico “We want banks to continue citizens and businesses. See obama on Page 19 Harry Reid’s prospects for reelection have improved. to be banks and to do what they need to do, but ... not put at risk the depositors of the bank or the taxpayers,” she said. “I just think Dem Support May Obama Letter Leaves that makes a lot of sense, and I think it’s very pragmatic, and I think it’s certainly possible.” Slide Toward Crist War Request in Doubt In 1998, at age 38, Lincoln be- came the youngest woman ever By Jo n a t h a n Mar t i n By Da v i d Ro g e r s new education assistance to avert elected to the U.S. Senate. Last ap teacher layoffs this fall. At the fall, she became the first woman The emergence of a politically unknown billion- Charlie Crist As if the Gulf weren’t enough, same time, renewed efforts began aire self-funder in the Florida Senate race is prompt- may benefit from the White House now faces a spill to salvage a $24 billion package of See lincoln on Page 15 ing top Democrats in the state to say publicly what the run of an un- of its own making in Congress state Medicaid assistance, even if some have been whispering for weeks: If Jeff Greene, known billionaire. this week, infuriating old Demo- it means paring back a proposed who got rich betting on the collapse of the housing cratic allies and putting a hold on 18-month fix of reim- More Online market, becomes their nominee, many in the party new war funding sought by Presi- bursements for physicians. Watch the full interview with Sen. will have the cover they need to get behind Republi- dent Barack Obama. The backdrop in both cases is a Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) at www.po- can-turned-independent Gov. Charlie Crist. Talks were under way Tuesday Saturday night letter from Obama litico.com. On Thursday: White House to extricate the administration by economic adviser Austan Goolsbee. See crist on Page 20 coming up with offsets to pay for See spending on Page 17 inside POLITICO 44 ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT MONEY Carly POLITICS Fiorina Obama pledges to fight environ- Gulf Coast mayors clamor for a Unlikely allies lobby REUTERS Conservative women’s groups spend mental “assault” on U.S. shores. say in oil-spill recovery plans. to protect swaps. liberally on women’s campaigns. Page 3 Page 13 Page 27 Page 31