Talk about unintended consequences. All this populist anger ginned up by congressional Democrats, the media and the Obama administration is going to hinder the Treasury Department's strategy to rescue the banking system.

Paul Krugman, the liberal New York Times columnist and winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in economics explained to Bloomberg News on March 24 that this is just what is happening.

According to Krugman, the backlash caused by bailed-out American International Group (AIG)  compensation debacle and efforts by Congress to limit other expenditures - private jets, office redecorations, salaries, etc. - is causing otherwise healthy financial institutions to shy away from accepting and keeping Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money from the federal government.

Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, CNN's Jack Cafferty has noticed that Americans are gathering at "Tea Parties" to protest their government's runaway spending and taxation.

Unfortunately, this wasn't done on air, and nowhere in his CNN.com piece did he mention President Barack Obama's name.

However, as his colleagues have largely ignored these protests -- as of Monday they have yet to be mentioned on "The Situation Room" for example -- we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth (h/t Glenn Reynolds):