Many Americans were surprised when President Obama's first term seemed somewhat similar to the status quo established by recent presidents. This was particularly evident in his underwhelming response to Wall Street reform.
One reason things remained largely unchanged is because the President appointed insiders with the same Wall-Street-first mentality to key economic positions. Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, Mark Patterson, Gary Gensler, William Dudley—all have strong ties to Goldman Sachs, and all are strongly connected to Wall Street.
We're not making a partisan argument, nor are we saying that these 5 men are evil. We're just saying that they all have a Wall-Street-first mentality and that the President can do better in making his 2nd-term appointments.