Inspired by anger over billions of dollars in bonuses handed out to Wall Street bankers for the last year’s largely dismal performance, President Obama declared that “now is not the time for these businesses to make a profit.” In an unprecedented expansion of the concept of the president as the US “commander-in-chief,” Obama insisted that “in this time of economic crisis, my administration will make war on profiteering. As long as one person is without a job, those who are fortunate enough to be employed must not be allowed to take bonuses. As long as one business is in bankruptcy,...