Obama to CEO's, “I'm the only thing between you and the pitchforks.”

[cinyc]

Step 1: Create crisis, blow it way out of proportion
Step 2: Demagogue crisis with populist rhetoric, fomenting people to raise pitchforks
Step 3: Claim you're the only thing stopping pitchforks, even though you are at least partially responsible for creating the "crisis" and fomented the rent-a-mob into action in the first place

Obama learned well from Alinsky - never let a good "crisis" go to waste.