While President Obama and some Republican candidates struggle with how to embrace the pain and anger fueling the Occupy Wall Street movement - while not endorsing the politically polarizing street protests - the Oval Office seekers have not been shy about accepting money from the financial world.
The finance, insurance and real estate sectors - known collectively as "FIRE" in campaign finance jargon - is a top contributor to all the major presidential candidates, funneling $16 million to the White House aspirants, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which charts the intersection of money and politics.
The FIRE sector was the No. 1 contributor to three GOP candidates - former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman - for this year through Sept. 30, the most recent campaign finance disclosure deadline.
Of the $89 million Obama has raised thus far, $3.9 million came from those interests. It is his third-highest donor sector, just behind "lawyers and lobbyists," according to the center's analysis.
Income gap growing
Meanwhile, new data show that the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen - one of the core concerns of the Occupy Wall Street movement. While 50 percent of all workers made less than $26,364 last year, the number of people earning more than $1 million increased 18 percent from 2009, according to new data released last week by the Social Security Administration.
"It's really hard for (politicians) to say to the Occupy Wall Street (movement), 'We share your concerns,' and then turn around and accept contributions from some of the same people that everybody is concerned about," said Bill Allison, editorial director at the Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan organization that also examines the role of money in politics.
Romney, a founder of the private equity firm Bain Capital, has described the Occupy Wall Street movement as "dangerous" and an example of "class warfare." He has received $7.5 million (23 percent of his campaign contributions) from the finance sector - more than any other candidate, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Romney has softened his rhetoric toward the protests recently, saying during a campaign stop in New Hampshire, "Are there bad actors on Wall Street? Absolutely. Are there bad actors on Main Street? Absolutely. And they have to be found and plucked out. ... But to say we should point and attack other Americans or industries of America would be a mistake."
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