180 Degrees

Step 1) AIG, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase receive taxpayer bailouts.

Step 2) "This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed, Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. I mean, how do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?" - President Barack Obama, March 16, 2009.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/03/obama_adds_outr.html

Step 3) In response to question about CEO of Goldman Sachs receiving a $9 million bonus and the CEO of JPMorgan Chase receiving a $17 million bonus:
"Well, look, first of all, I know both those guys. They're very savvy businessmen. And I, like most of the American people, don't begrudge people success or wealth. That's part of the free market system. I do think that the compensation packages that we've seen over the last decade at least have not matched up always to performance. I think that shareholders oftentimes have not had any significant say in the pay structures for CEOs." - President Barack Obama, February 10, 2010.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/02/obama-i-dont-begrudge-people-success-or-wealth/1

Seems that these two statements made by our President are 180 degrees apart.

Both firms received taxpayer money, yet his language is very different for each situation. It scares me a bit that he says he knows the guys at JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs; is that why he doesn't care that they profit from a taxpayer bailout?

Inconsistencies like this should scare everyone. How can you even know who the man is or if he agrees with your position? It seems like the American people are being played. Don't they realize we have a memory that lasts beyond the end of their speeches?

It's amazing what you find when you pay attention. I see more and more everyday that the waste in our government is bringing the country down. Show me a case where more government has caused economic progress. More government means less freedom and less opportunity...two keys to economic (and by extension, social) progress.

Isn't "progress" what everybody wants? Or is it just what they tell you they want.

How's the saying go?: Deeds, not Words.