Remember how we the taxpayers became the primary shareholders of  AIG, the world's largest insurance firm?

Within days we might also own the largest bank in the United States.

Citigroup is taking on water fast. The stock has lost half its value in recent days and efforts to find a new investor are underway http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1861332,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

One expert, Brad DeLong, is openly suggesting Citigroup be de facto nationalized http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/11/time-for-the-go.html Given that the present market cap for a $2 Trillion institution is down to $20B,  http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=C the out-of-pocket Treasury cost to assume full control here is a mere smidgen of Paulson's $700B slush fund.  

Now, how did Citigroup get in such parlous shape, especially when compared with the NYC rival, JPMorgan Chase?  Well, the Citi was asleep to the level of risk it had in mortgage securities. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/business/23citi.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&em

And guess what? The prime architect of Citi's disasterous strategy was the once renowned Clintonista hard money advocate, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin

Citigroup insiders and analysts say that Mr. Prince and Mr. Rubin played pivotal roles in the bankʼs current woes, by drafting and blessing a strategy that involved taking greater trading risks to expand its business and reap higher profits. Mr. Prince and Mr. Rubin both declined to comment for this article.

Now where has Rubin been seen lately?...hmmm..advising Barack Obama 

http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/07/news/easton_obama.fortune/index2.htm

How does Senator Dodd. Chairman of the Banking Committee figure in all this?

a) Citigroup is the #1 contributor to Chris Dodd's political campaigns http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=Career&cid=N00000581

$425,000 in lifetime contributions to Dodd.

b) Dodd said in the summer he did "not expect many more banks to fail"

 http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dodd-does-not-expect-many-more-banks-to-fail-2008-07-14.html

Naw, just the biggest one