Obama's pitchforks can't kill BofA's moc-Ken-bird

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis barely pricked by hometown dead tree Drive-by hay baler, despite the Charlotte Observer’s months’ long vendetta

And they say you can’t win against those that buy ink by the barrel?

Shareholders at BAC’s annual meeting yesterday re-elected Ken Lewis and the 17 other members the bank’s Board of Directors (BOD) but did narrowly require (50.3%) that the positions of Cheif Operating Officer and Chairman of the Board not be occupied by the same person.

The re-elected BOD kept Lewis on as President and CEO of the nation’s largest bank.

Just three weeks ago a President Barack Obama impatient with bank CEO objections to government mandates limiting compensation for highly skilled bank executives sought after by foreign banks told Lewis and other major bank CEOs gathered at the White House to:

“Be careful how you make those statements, gentlemen. The public isn’t buying that.”

“My administration,” the president added, “is the only thing between you and the pitchforks.”

President Obama removed his administrative pitchfork obstruction. The pitchforks of a non-buying that public showed up a the BAC meeting to kill a mock-Ken-bird, but in the 2009 sequel, the Lewis bird doubled as Atticus Finch, esq. who survived with barely a paper cut as the mob dispersed.

The Charlotte Observer rarely missed a week since the 2008 Winter solstice without publishing a story demonizing Lewis as Exhibit A in for all that has gone wrong in the economy since the September credit crisis.

Yes, BAC had its only quarterly loss in history last fall and its stock price has fallen to historic lows. Yes, Lewis found out about Merrill Lynch’s toxic assets only after shareholder’s approved the sale. And yes, many bad loans were made by BAC and its Countrywide mortgage acquisition.

But what the Drive-By media won’t mention is that Barney Frank (D-MA) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CN) led elected Democrats in D.C. for the last eight years in their policies that threatened banks with race discrimination and regulation violation suits if they didn’t make loans to people that couldn’t pay their mortgage payments. They never mention that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac promised to guarantee those bad loans. They mention only in passing on page A18 that the government forced them to take TARP money and to complete the Merrill deal. And we only found out last week that Lewis was prohibited by Treasury to reveal Merrill’s precarious position until after the deal was completed.

They never mention that most all banks have had sharp stock price drops due to the recession nor that Lewis has performed a veritable miracle in turning a profit in 2009 due mainly to how he has utilized the resources of Merrill and Countrywide.

A full court press by a local newspaper ginning up Obama’s pitchfork weilding mob in an effort to make Lewis and other bank CEOs the scapegoats for failed policies supported by that same press and then Senator Obama and his Democratic Party couldn’t stop that portion of We the People investors in BAC from keeping a good man in charge.

But, the paper that hasn’t observed a profit of its own in recent memory and a President as Wealth Spreader in Chief indifferent to future profits, have more hits to make on Lewis and BAC.

A politicized “stress test” as a Trojan Horse for forced nationalization will be rolled out soon, and if all else fails, The One that has been killing BAC softly with his song for months, may simply force TARP funds from the Preferred to the Common stock ledger and make the pitchfork hit himself.

Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer, Examiner.com and Minority Report columns

“One man with courage makes a majority.” – Andrew Jackson

Originally published @ Examiner.com, where all for verification links may be accessed.