It wasn't. It was passed under Bush. And Democrats were just as likely to mess that up as Republicans:
Just 36% of Republicans, 35% of independents and 34% of Democrats know
that the government bailout of banks and financial institutions was
signed into law by former President Bush. Democrats (46%) are just as
likely as Republicans (50%) or independents (44%) to incorrectly say
the legislation was enacted after Obama became president.
Weirdly, the biggest gap between each party's news awareness was the depth of the oil leak. The other gaps are practically margin-of-error differences.
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.
Derek Thompson is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he writes about economics, technology, and the media. He is the author of Hit Makersand the host of the podcast Crazy/Genius.