By standing between the bankers and “the pitchforks,” Obama sought to mollify the public outrage, rather than give it voice. Despite his eloquence—during the campaign and at times during his presidency—about the moral arc of the universe bending toward justice, Obama treated the financial crisis as a technical problem for experts to solve, not a civic question about the role of finance in democratic life. This stance fueled discontent with the mainstream parties and set the stage for populist backlash. Public anger over the bailout would find other political expression—on the left, in the
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