The heat was turned up in the afternoon by Michael Capuano, the representative from Massachusetts, who devoted his five minutes to an impressively outraged rant about how awful bankers are, starting with the memorable quote:
“You come to us today on your bicycles, after buying Girl Scout cookies and helping out Mother Teresa, telling us: ‘We’re sorry. We won’t do it again . . . I have people in my constituency who rob some of your banks and they say the same thing: ‘I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.’”
After that, a few other representatives were emboldened to show some outright contempt and the hearing, at least occasionally, became as rude as a UK parliamentary event. On balance, though, I still feel that British politicians are better at being scathingly rude and obnoxious.
Listening to any bit of political grandstanding like this is always slightly depressing, when one realises how little many of our elected representatives know about the subject in which they are supposed, at least to a degree, to have expertise.
Why is it that politicians from all countries require witnesses called before them to be impeccably briefed and lucid, yet find it acceptable themselves to drift in and out of hearings, not bother to read any of the background briefings, and generally behave like complete ignoramuses?
The FT’s John Gapper wasn’t as impressed: