There's never been any evidence that Obama understands economics, and especially not the politics of economics. So when Geithner and the rest said 'Let's jump off that cliff' he was happy to follow their 'expert' lead, because he very likely believes that they truly are disinterested experts.

If Biden is now saying 'Oopsie', that could be a suggestion that questions are being asked. But I still doubt that Obama has what it takes to turn around the economy, because he'll be coming at it as a complete novice - someone who doesn't just fail to grasp the issues, but also fails to understand the people, and is probably too congenitally centrist to make intelligent decisions.

I suspect Obama secretly considers Krugman a left-wing extremist, and the last person in the world he should listen to.

More than that - Obama's chief interest is in playing Obama as president. It's a theatre performance with some fine quasi-Shakespearean speeches and a chance to influence some Big Issues. Mundane crap like failing banks just isn't sexy enough to capture his vast statesmanlike attention.