Obama made a big deal yesterday about Merrill Lynch’s John Thain spending millions to redecorate his office with “government money”. Thain became CEO of Merrill in December 2007 and spent loads of dough on furniture and drapes while Obama was still trailing Hillary in Iowa. While it is a convenient tale to illustrate a point, it doesn’t jibe with the facts. Merrill never took TARP funds as it was swallowed by BofA (and nearly croaked it) before the TARP was passed.
Moral: Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. Just ask NancyReagan.
