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The laughter, of course, did not fit the occasion, the latest in a seemingly endless stream of public events at which Washington's political leaders work themselves into high dudgeon over the sins of financial wizards who, we are told over and over again, have messed up the world for everyone else. But then, you can act outraged about the same thing only so many times before it all starts to sound stale. These spectacles, the public rhetorical floggings, have become teleplays, as predictable as a daytime soap opera, as comforting as a wet rock. (See pictures of the top 10 scared traders.)
As the event wore on, even Obama did not seem that into it, a surprising misfire for a politician who has long excelled at striking the right tone at public appearances. He was almost grinning as he described the "recklessness and greed" of the traders in AIG's financial-products division, a reckless band of wealthy incompetents who made bets they could not pay for, leaving the American taxpayer on the hook for as much as $173 billion in emergency funds — an enormous sum that works out to about $600 for every man, woman and child in America. "How do they justify this outrage?" Obama asked rhetorically, with only the slightest tinge of outrage in his own voice. (Read "Obama's Challenge: Containing the AIG Bonus Outrage.")
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