Edward,
I’m not forgetting. TARP was an important part of the bailouts, but its $700 billion or so was dwarfed by the
$16 trillion provided by the Fed, largely with the consultation and consent of the department of Treasury, into 2010 (see
this Fed timeline). Bank of America, Citi, AIG, Fannie and Freddie were on government life support well into Obama’s administration and needed subsequent guarantees and capital infusions. Citibank and BofA alone needed an additional $400+ billion in asset guarantees which, IIRC, were only finalized after the election and closed as late as January 2009. I don't believe that Obama was ignorant of or opposed these actions.
It is also arguable and even probable that the Fed’s $4+ trillion quantitative easing and ZIRP programs were designed primarily to recapitalize the big banks, many of which were insolvent well into 2009 and beyond; ‘asset reflation’ was how the Government rebuilt the bank balance sheets. Alas, this strategy has widened the disparity in wealth in the US to historic, and I believe very, very dangerous levels -- and I think this greatly feeds into populist anger. If Obama had strongly opposed the Fed's actions, he likely would not have nominated Bernanke to a second term as Fed Chair, or nominated Yellen as Bernanke's successor.
I think it was damaging that the Obama administration failed to prosecute senior bank officials or to break up the banks, while substantially socializing their losses. Obama and Geithner argued again and again that they took ‘hard and unpopular’ actions for the benefit of the American people, to stave off systemic collapse. Perhaps so; but these actions fueled the notion that our plutocratic elites play by a different set of rules than everyone else: they keep their profits, we socialize their losses. It's a difficult notion to combat because it seems true, and not just on Wall Street. I think the rage against the elites we now see is traceable in part to the memory of these events.
(edited in: if you care to hear Geithner's full-throated defense of all the Government's actions in the financial crisis, I remember his interview on "Charlie Rose" (
here in six parts) is pretty good. BTW, after leaving Treasury, Geithner became
President and Managing Director of Warburg, Pincus, one of the US's largest private equity firms. I think there's a whiff of oligarchy.)