Inside Lloyd Blankfein's Head

It was clear from the look on Blankfein's face that when the senator brought up synthetics, Blankfein wanted to say, 'Yeah, you're right. The world would be OK without synthetics. The markets operated just fine without them.'

He really didn't have a good defense. As he was explaining them you could see the wheels churning: He realized that they sound ridiculous.

SHOOT: The mere fact that you have a group of people who invent games and financial ploys that no one can understand, creates a scenario perfect for arrogance. Arrogance is the same as cocky, and arrogant people have contempt for those around them. That contempt extends to cheating money out of investors and then using euphemisms and epithets 'dumbed down' to explain to the masses that 'we did nothing wrong' because you can't even understand what we do. Actually you don't have to understand the finer details to know whether you've been filched. The money trail is also a damning bit of evidence. At GS they breathe money out of thin air in a system none but a few have access to...a system above the law. Really?

clipped from news.yahoo.com He knew he was the smartest guy in the room—smart enough to know that he shouldn't convince people of that. Blankfein sat in the hearing for almost four hours and he acted like an elite athlete, with impeccable composure. He stumbled a little bit with the occasional 'ums' and 'uhs'-personally, I think that was for show—but was very thoughtful in his responses. He wasn't arrogant; he acted humble, appearing more like an unassuming accountant. Under tremendous pressure, he didn't sweat once. That's how you get to that level of the game: by playing that role with quiet confidence. There wasn't a single second where he had to throw his weight around and say, 'You guys are just idiots.' He wasn't condescending, but I'm sure he was thinking, 'The people that have the power in this country really don't understand how the system operates.' Even more disturbing is that they-meaning the U.S. government-created the system.