Obama, Clinton Draw Wall Street Donors Amid Bush Disenchantment

Obama, Clinton Draw Wall Street Donors Amid Bush Disenchantment
Julianna Goldman and Kristin Jensen
Wed Jul 18, 12:15 AM ET

July 18 (Bloomberg) -- Wall Street donors are demonstrating their disenchantment with President George W. Bush and his policies on Iraq and the economy by giving more to Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton than to Republican candidates.

Obama, an Illinois senator, is leading among employees of the top 10 investment banks, raising at least $739,579 in the second quarter, Federal Election Commission filings show. Clinton, a New York senator whose constituency includes Wall Street, followed with $424,545. By comparison, the top Republican recipients, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, each received a little more than $330,000.

Overall, employees of the banks gave more than $1.4 million to Democrats and slightly more than $900,000 to Republicans. These Democratic donors are focusing on issues such as the budget and the growing negative perception of the U.S. overseas. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Financial Officer Michael Cavanagh, an Obama supporter, said he sees an opportunity for a ``fresh look at things,'' while Robert Wolf, chairman of UBS Americas, said he is concerned about the Iraq war and partisan divides.

``Plenty of people on Wall Street look at many issues outside of just from a business acumen,'' said Wolf, 45, who is raising money for Obama. ``He was very clear in 2002 that he was against the war, and I think that differentiates him.''