Activist: Uncle Sam's BofA Board

Massey served under Hugh McColl and his hand-picked successor, Ken Lewis, for over a decade. It's hard for anyone to make the mental switch from being a good foot soldier director to suddenly questioning past decisions. In short, how can Massey be part of turning the page, when he was complicit in all the past decisions which brought the bank to its current weakened position?

After witnessing how swiftly and aggressively the government stepped in to take control of General Motors(GMGMQ Quote), including insisting that Rick Wagoner be replaced, you would have expected similar draconian action for the biggest bank in the industry that arguably has been the most responsible for the current economic mess -- BofA, or as 60 Minutes referred to it last September in a glowing piece, the "King of Wall Street." Based on the reports of how Lewis and BofA were viewed by top officials at Treasury and the Federal Reserve, frustration among the government appeared to be fever high.

Yet, Lewis is still in charge at Bank of America (as is Vikram Pandit at Citigroup(C Quote)). Why? I think it's because the Obama administration decided that Wall Street's and Main Street's interests were aligned in seeing a higher stock market and the realization that their anti-Wall Street rhetoric in the first two months of this year had upset the market.

I think they also watched the ripples that followed the removal of Wagoner and worried that another high-profile ouster would send the message that they were being too authoritarian.