Pandit At The Gates

This is classic. It’s an image of Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit leaving — or emm, at least attempting to leave — the White House this morning.

The messaging is incredibly loaded, all in the Administration’s favor: Watch your back. Bank CEOs locked in. Got you cornered. Got you exactly where we can see you. Even, behind bars.

Really nice how the release of Pandit, in black, seems contingent on a similar gesture by the guy inside the guard window, in white (foreshadowing new controls in place?), and how Pandit’s “release” segues to a supposed face-to-face with the public (especially, that expectant looking woman) on the street.

(image: Evan Vucci/AP. White House in Washington, Friday, March 27, 2009, following a meeting between chief executives and President Barack Obama)