Harold Meyerson of The Washington Post published a compelling column this morning that wondered whether Democrats would approve investor advocates or corporate lawyers to the upcoming vacant posts on the Securities and Exchange Commission, regulator of US financial markets.
Just one problem: Barack Obama did not vote for the 2005 legislation that made it more difficult for average Americans to file for bankruptcy, as Meyerson originally claimed he did. The Illinois senator's presidential campaign quickly pointed this out to reporters, and Meyerson's column was corrected online.
Obama did oppose an amendment to that bankruptcy bill that would have capped credit-card interest rates at 30 percent. The vote would appear to benefit big lenders, as Rolling Stone and The Nation pointed out.
As it happens, John Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 nominee, and the party's top two Senate leaders, Harry Reid and Dick Durbin, voted with Obama.
