Recent comments by presidential candidate Hillary Clinton questioning whether it is fair that many hedge fund managers and CEOs pay a lower tax rate than average workers do have drawn concern in the finance industry that she's anti-Wall Street.

But that's not the case says Steven Rattner, czar of the auto bailout for President Obama and now chairman of Willet Advisors, which manages Michael Bloomberg's philanthropic assets.

"She has been someone who — I'm going to call her constructive on Wall Street — believes that Wall Street has a role to play in the economy," Rattner told CNBC. "She believes that our capital markets are the best in the world and have a role to play in our enormous success."

To some extent it seems Clinton can't win regardless of how she approaches the financial industry. The liberal wing of the Democratic Party has complained that she is too chummy with Wall Street.

As for any criticism by her, "it's become clear that Wall Street does not always act constructively in the country's interests, so she can change her mind," Rattner said.

Meanwhile, now that Clinton has officially entered the presidential campaign, she'll have a major albatross to confront, says Charles Gasparino, senior correspondent for Fox Business Network.

That's an economy that has grown at an annual rate of just 1.9 percent under President Obama, the slowest pace in nearly 70 years, he wrote in the New York Post.

"Her [Clinton's] big fear, according to the Wall Street Democrats I speak to, is being stuck with (and blamed for) her old boss' economy," Gasparino stated. "That's because the economy has never fully recovered from the financial collapse that President Obama faced when he took office."

Growth slowed to 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter, matching the post-recession average, and most economists predict the first quarter number will come in even weaker.

"Fact is, many analysts believe the economy is worse than the headline numbers, filtered through the Obamaites and their media lackeys, suggest," Gasparino noted.

Meanwhile, conventional wisdom has it that recessions are a very bad thing, throwing millions out of work and repressing wealth creation. The Great Recession of 2007-09 is often cited as example No. 1.

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