JV PhiloBlog

Link: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Obama-helps-strengthen-General-Electric-Putin-ties-59644627.html

The following article gives what appears to be a good example of what is meant by "crony capitalism": the writer implies wrongdoing. However, the fact that Russia does a favor for G.E. after Obama does a favor for Russia, does not prove that it resulted from that favor. Though suggestive, the conclusion does not necessarily follow. The syllogism would be:

Friends help friends.
Obama is friends with G.E.
Killing the missile program helps G.E.
Therefore, Obama killed the program to help G.E.

Here's the story:

Obama helps strengthen General Electric-Putin ties
By: Timothy P. Carney
Examiner Columnist
09/17/09 2:06 PM EDT

Reuters reports an interesting nugget in the wake of President Barack Obama's decision to grant Vladimir Putin his wish and kill the Eastern European missile shield:

Shortly after the pullback on the shield programme was announced, Russia's government said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would meet several U.S. executives on Friday from firms including General Electric, Morgan Stanley as well as TPG, one of the world's largest private equity firms

General Electric may be the company with the closest ties to the Obama administration (if not, GE is second only to Goldman Sachs), and here we see the company benefiting from an abrupt foreign policy change made by President Obama. But GE isn't the only company benefiting. Reuters paints the broader picture:

"U.S. companies have arguably lost out to some European companies in joint ventures, and better diplomacy will likely improve the chances for investors in the strategic sectors of the Russian economy," said Carlo Gallo, senior Russia analyst at London-based consultancy Control Risks.

GE CEO Jeff Immelt sits on Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and GE owns MSNBC, the network famously friendly to Obama.