2012-01-27

Buffett's reputation takes another hit

I have several posts about Warren Buffett relating to socionomics. The basic argument is that Buffett was the darling of the bull market and he may turn into the goat of the bear market. Things are proceeding apace as Buffett spends more time involved in politics than he does in investing. The latest "scandal" has moved him into the realm of crony capitalist: Buffett's Burlington Northern Among Pipeline Winners
Warren Buffett's Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC is among U.S. and Canadian railroads that stand to benefit from the Obama administration's decision to reject TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL oil pipeline permit.
Right-wing bloggers and crony capitalist watchdogs were all over this story, as Buffett has been Obama's go-to-guy for economic advice and sound bites. What fueled the interest initially was that Bloomberg appeared to have scrubbed the article from their site, but it turns out it was just a coding glitch due to an update.
If you click through the Warren Buffett tag you can see some older arguments against Buffett. The point here is the public perception of Buffett and the willingness of the press to run negative stories. By becoming more political, Buffett opens himself up to more scrutiny, which means if there's any truth or valid complaints about him, they are more likely to receive a public hearing than if he faded into the investing sunset. And as social mood declines, those attacks receive a wider hearing.

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