Paper Tiger President: Obama's "scold the bankers" faux-Populism

Glen Greenwald @ Salon - I wonder what it's like to live in a country where political and financial elites are held accountable for wrongdoing.  Everyone can decide for themselves how credible a threat Obama, Tim Geithner, Larry Summers and friends will ever pose to Wall Street, but at least some of the bankers don't seem to be taking it very seriously [1]:

So expect a healthy dose of political posturing before, during and after the President's meeting with top bankers Monday. "It's a p.r. stunt," says an executive at one of the banks that will be getting a dressing-down at the White House meeting.  Executives from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are expected to be among those in attendance.

Last week, Britain imposed [2] a one-time 50% tax on bankers' bonuses in response to the crisis they caused and subsequent bailout they needed, and France is now doing the same [3].  Last month, the German Defense Minister was forced to resign [4] in disgrace because of false statements he made about a NATO airstrike that slaughtered numerous civilians in Afghanistan.   Earlier this year, the former Prime Minister of South Korea jumped to his death [5] while being investigated for corrupt and illegal acts he allegedly committed while in power.  Read more [6].