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In Bailout Fight, Team Obama Fears Backlash

Prez could be seen as bank 'advocate,' sparking anger

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 16, 2009 8:56 AM CDT

(Newser) – The Obama administration is getting more and more nervous about the possibility of a populist backlash, as anger toward the institutions at the heart of the financial crisis swells, the New York Times reports. That anger may be aimed at anyone linked to Wall Street—including the government that’s bailing the industry out. “The desire for culprits at times like this is strong,” said President Clinton’s former labor secretary.

With that in mind, the administration is working to dissociate itself from financials, most recently slamming AIG for offering $165 million in executive bonuses. But it remains to be seen whether the president’s calm style can satisfy a public that “may be feeling more emotional,” Adam Nagourney writes. As it calls for more bailout funds, the administration is walking a tightrope, says adviser David Axelrod. “There is reason for anger, but we also have to solve the problem.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Then-President-elect Barack Obama is accompanied by then-National Economic Council Director-designate Lawrence Summers, second from right, on Capitol Hill, Jan. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, right, and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers, left, await the arrival of President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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I do think there’s a potential for a ‘damn everybody in power’ kind of sentiment. - Michael Kazin, Georgetown University

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COMMENTS

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Showing 2 of 2 comments

Guest

Mar 19, 2009 1:06 AM CDT

I'm for bailing out the poor and middle class, i.e. the American public. I am vehemently against bailing out any more executives. No bailout money should ever be touch by the hands of business executives again. They're too greedy and do not seem to understand common problems. Their problems seem to be whether their $1 million salary is enough, whether to apply for another job and whether their bonus will be more than their salary, whether they perform or not. Nice problem to have. No more bailouts for the rich!

AnnieChrist

Mar 16, 2009 12:30 AM CDT

A quote from the article: "I do think there’s a potential for a ‘damn everybody in power’ kind of sentiment." This is exactly what limbaugh's party is hoping for and counting on. They will try to convince us that it's the people in power, 'the government,' who are responsible for the rape and pillage of our treasury over the previous 8 years, and hope we forget that we elected the guy we would 'like to have a beer with,' instead of the smart guy who helped lead us to prosperity in the 90's. They will tell us that Obama has had months to fix all the f**kups from the past 8 years and he has not done it, therefore we need to start looking at the candidates who tell us 'the government' is the problem, and we can fix it all if we just let the free market run free, and get all the 6 year old deadbeats off their free school lunch, and quit giving free medicine to 80 year old welfare queens who refuse to get a job. Unfortunately it will probably work, because the average voter doesn't want the responsibility of actually paying attention, it is so much easier to say “they're all crooks,” instead of finding out who the real crooks are. They don't want to go to the trouble of informing themselves, they want to believe that it is 'the government' that is the root of their problems.

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In Bailout Fight, Team Obama Fears Backlash