The Occupy Wall Street protests came to Washington today, as marchers gathered near the White House and President Barack Obama said the demonstrations are “giving voice” to frustrations with the financial system.
“The American people understand that not everybody’s been following the rules, that Wall Street is an example of that,” Obama said at a White House press conference. He stopped short of endorsing the movement that began three weeks ago in Lower Manhattan and has spread to cities from Houston to San Francisco with the help of postings on Twitter and websites.
Several thousand protesters set up camp today in Washington’s Freedom Plaza, two blocks from the Treasury Department. They staged drumming circles, set up sign-making tents, held amini-rock festival and spoke against Wall Street excesses. Shortly before 3p.m., they began marching toward the White House, with plans to rally nearby outside the columned headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Nationwide, the protesters have criticized the government for propping up hobbled financial giants such as Citigroup Inc. (C) and Bank of America Corp. with a $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout. They also called for more government aid to createjobs for the unemployed and voiced anti-war and anti-trade sentiment.
“There’s a lot in common with the Tea Party,” Vice President Joe Biden said today in Washington of the protests. “What are the people up there on the other end of the political spectrum saying? The same thing: ’Look guys, the bargain isnot on the level anymore.’ In the minds ofthe vast majority of the American -- the middle class is being screwed.”
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain told reporters in Houston today that the Wall Streetprotesters are “trying to disrupt the whole country.”
“This is an attempt by theleft to create a distraction from the failed policies of this administration,” Cain said.
Union Leaders
National union leaders based in Washington moved to embrace the protests as they reached the capital. Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor federation, told reporters yesterday that the demonstrations werereminiscent of a union march on Wall Street last year.
Speakers at a rally in Washington today said their efforts were inspired by union-backedprotests in Madison, Wisconsin, this year against Republican moves to curb union benefits.
“Madison was our inspiration; the country noticed,” Gloria English, 51, a bartender and house cleaner from Owings, Maryland, said inan interview.
While union leaders havediscussed trying to channel the demonstration’s energy to advance their agenda, such as a call for increased government spending on roads and bridges, the president of the United Steelworkers said the amorphous protests should be embraced as-is.
“I don’t think there needsto be a lot of direction onthis -- people are angry for a lot of different reasons,” Leo Gerard saidyesterday at a press conference. “It’s a tremendous opportunity.”
Not About Union
Not all participants in today’s march were ready to usher union leaders to the head of the protest parade.
’’This is much bigger thanmy union affiliation,’’ Lisa Oberg, a 32-year-old actor from Baltimore who joined in the Washington protests today, said. “This is aboutthe people. My union has nothing to do with why I’m here.”
In New York, where the Occupy Wall Street protests continued today,Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “A lot of people are feeling the pain and when people are feeling the pain they look for an outlet, and that’s what I think you’re hearing from the protesters.”
The causes run from opposition to the death penalty to income inequality, according to Cuomo, who defended Wall Street’s role in the New York economy.
“Wall Street is a major economic engine for the state,” he said at a press conference. “When all is said and told, 20 to 25 percent of the state’s income comes from Wall Street. From the state’s balance, there has to be abalance.”

Good deal.

Cain has his head up his ***, these protests if anything bring attention to failed government policies.