TARP was the tip of a massive Wall St bailout:

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/06/bailout-costs-vs-big-historical-events/

Bankruptcy is the normal process instead of just handing out money. As a result, we have TBTF Wall St banks which are now larger, more reckless, and out of control, and toady regulators which have been bought by the banks.

If Obama can argue that we cannot "give the keys to the car" back to the Republicans, then why did he give the keys back to the Wall St banks that did the exact same thing?

Palson/Bush started the bailouts in 2008, but after the elections, there was debate about what to do, complete with very different proposals by economists like Stiglitz:

Geithner’s approach won. Bankruptcy would not be used on the banks, but it would be used on GM, one of the largest global multi-nation corporations in the world.

Could it be because bankruptcy means auditors will examine the books? Here’s what happen when the auditors went through Lehman Bros. books:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/fraud-charges-loom-for-lehman-bros-1920944.html

Massive fraud.

And just yesterday, Gretchan Morganson predicted, we would have to bail the banks out again:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/business/economy/03gret.html

So if TARP was so successful, why are there predictions we will have to do it AGAIN?