So far there has been tepid reaction by official Washington tothe protests against Wall Street that have spread throughout thenation. This may prove the point of both those on the right and theleft that the leaders of our big political and economicinstitutions just don't get it.

The rescue by the government of the big banks and failure of the2009 stimulus bill to create more jobs are cited by conservativesas evidence that those in government are clueless. Meanwhile, thoseon the left cite high bank fees and the failure of businessesto expand hiring (despite strong profits) as evidence that businessneeds to be regulated even more.

It is too early to tell if the Occupy Wall Street rallies willfuel the liberal equivalent of the Tea Party movement. At the veryleast, however, they show that a segment of the public thinks thatbusinesses have been unfairly coddled by the government and aren'tbeing sufficiently responsive to consumers.