Fog of lending: Did those bankers blow off the president?

Yesterday when three New York bankers were too “fogged in” to make an 11 a.m. White House woodshedding by President Obama, the news was received as an apt metaphor for the cluelessness of bonus-hugging financial industry types on the public dole.

There was speculation the stuffy trio had winsomely tried flying commercial — better to avoid the private jet fiascos of past visits — and fell prey to the air traffic snafus the rest of us contend with regularly.

But wait! Now everyone is saying the bankers may have done it on purpose to show Obama a little attitude — after all, the Amtrak Acela is pretty awesome, and slightly more reliable than air travel. Sniffs the NYT (it’s worth quoting at length):

President Obama didn’t exactly look thrilled as he stared at the Polycom speakerphone in front of him. “Well, I appreciate you guys calling in,” he began the meeting at the White House with Wall Street’s top brass on Monday.

He was, of course, referring to the three conspicuously absent attendees who were being piped in by telephone: Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs; John J. Mack, chairman of Morgan Stanley; and Richard D. Parsons, chairman of Citigroup.

Their excuse? “Inclement weather,” according to the White House. More precisely, fog delayed flights into Reagan National Airport. (In the “no good deed goes unpunished” category, the absent bankers were at least self-aware enough to try to fly commercial.)

That awkward moment on speakerphone in the White House, for better or worse, spoke volumes about how the balance of power between Wall Street and Washington has shifted again, back in Wall Street’s favor….

The meeting was always just going to be political theater. Wall Street bankers were supposed to play their part on the public stage in Washington, and submit to a scolding from the president about bonuses and the need to start lending more to help get the economy moving.

But inevitably public perception will issue its harsh ruling, and it goes something like this: If the meeting were really that important to Mr. Blankfein, Mr. Mack and Mr. Parsons, they would have found a way to get there.

They would have left the night before, or they would have flown out at the crack of dawn, or better yet, taken Amtrak (I called customer service, and the Acela was running only a couple of minutes late).

The Guardian weighs in with its own investigation:

The Federal Aviation Administration confirms that Washington’s National airport had a “ground stop” in place because of poor visibility. But the city’s Dulles airport was open, albeit with delays, and Baltimore Washington International was functioning normally.

Snap.