“Our first thought was, ‘Oh God, not again,’” said one financial services executive when the latest AIG bonus news broke. “But it did not rise to that level.”

The issue has died, say lawmakers and lobbyists, for two reasons: Congress is overwhelmed on other major issues and the White House has done a 180-degree turn on the rhetoric. It also doesn’t hurt that the stock market has rallied a bit — the Dow is up 2,000 points since it bottomed out in March and rallied a whopping 257 points Wednesday alone.