Though the public is more critical of Bush than Obama, this is still not an encouraging environment at election time. Also, with the public so angry with Wall Street and the mortgage industry (for valid reasons) it’s a mystery why Obama is so afraid to tackle that problem. With another record bonus season coming, the industry is proving to everyone that they can’t show self-restraint or appreciation for being rescued. Bloomberg:

Wall Street financial firms and the mortgage industry get the most blame for the country’s economic weakness. More than three-quarters of the 1,000 Americans polled say the former has hurt the economy, while more than 80 percent fault the latter. Former President George W. Bush also comes in for criticism, with three times as many people saying he hurt the economy as those who believe he helped it.

Americans are more ambivalent about the roles that President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke have played, with those surveyed about evenly split between whether the two men have helped or hurt the economy.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner comes off worse, with 34 percent saying he’s had a negative effect on the economy versus 20 percent who say his impact was positive. The rest of the respondents aren’t sure.