Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post sees the arousal of the rabble as well, noting that "The vast amount of money poured into Wall Street has bought American taxpayers the right to say that business-as-usual practices such as the AIG bonuses are over."
Even Suze Orman, who normally avoids blatant politicking, chides George W Bush for his role in creating this incredible mess:
"Commander in Chief?" she says of George W. Bush, with a mix of disbelief and scorn. "You blew up every single financial vessel we had and if you think you aren't personally responsible, well, the blame starts at the top. There is no higher top than you, SIR! If I were you, I would feel so absolutely horrific that I would take every penny I had and distribute it to anybody and everybody to help them in whatever way I could. You owe the American people every penny of your fortune and your family's fortune."With this kind of anger ranging unfettered across the land, E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post wonders whether Obama can surf this tidal wave of populist angst without wiping out. Dionne observes that "President Obama seems thoroughly ambivalent about this strain of American politics." He adds in another commentary, "We are at the beginning of a great popular rebellion against those who showed no self-restraint when it came to lining their own pockets." Woe betide those seen as aiding and abetting such greed!
The one vessel of state that can reverse course more quickly is the US Congress, itself under suspicion for the very reasons both Obama and Bush are being held to account by We, the People. The new heading is called out by Slate's Moneybox columnist Daniel Gross, who calls for Congress to "call in CNBC's Rick Santelli and force him to explain why subsidizing these [Wall Street] losers is somehow different than subsidizing losers who are behind in their mortgages."
Those "losers" of Santelli's scorn are very unhappy right now. They feel they were betrayed, and party affiliation is no armor. That may be why rising GOP star Eric Cantor is supporting the House bonus tax bill. Being Jewish like too many of these financial "experts" isn't going to help him when the Ohio redneck red staters come calling with real steel pitchforks in hand, so maybe he's hoping that going after the greedy wealthy will score some points with the rabble in the future. Being a Democrat certainly isn't helping Chris Dodd, whose Senate career is realistically at an end.
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