Obama went "Al Capone" on Chrysler's Senior Debtholders?"

The reports are coming in fast and furious of Obama attempting to strong-arm the senior creditors in the Chrysler deal.

Although the focus has so been on allegations that the White House threatened Perella Weinberg, sources familiar with the matter say that other firms felt they were threatened as well. None of the sources would agree to speak except on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of political repercussions.

Now this part should scare anyone dealing with the White House in the future.

One participant in negotiations said that the administration's tactic was to present what one described as a "madman theory of the presidency" in which the President is someone to be feared because he was willing to do anything to get his way. The person said this threat was taken very seriously by his firm.

I guess that is the Chicago way to either act like an organized crime figure or a 5 year old kid. Forget upholding the constitution or the rule of law that secured creditors get their money back before any unsecured creditors. Barack "the Godfather" Obama gets what he wants or he will destroy you!

I can just picture Obama dressed in a white suit with dark glasses and a big stogie like Al Capone in the Untouchables. I guess Perella Weinberg gets to be that guy that gets hit in the head with a baseball bat. This also sets a terrible precedent for any future dealing with the White House:

Imagine telling your bank that you’ve decided to pay off your mortgage in full, but you’re only going to give them 35 cents on the dollar, take it or leave it. Then when they protest, you lose patience, walk out of the room, and go on national television to say that your bank is a bad actor, they’ve exhausted your patience, and now they’ll have to settle for a big fat zero. And by the way, maybe the White House press corps will start spreading nasty rumors about them.

The bad part is the hedge funds would have taken 50 cents on the dollar if Obama didn't go all Capone on them and storm out of the room. This should tell you in no uncertain terms that any company that has TARP funds is now subject to a Bully Pulpit that will actually bully you.