With longtime General Motors (GM) CEO Rick Wagoner gone -- even if not much is likely to change under longtime GM veteran Fritz Henderson -- one of the major lightning rods of public outrage over the auto bailout is gone, too.

The next lightning rod could be a firm that until now has been a more behind-the-scenes presence.

Private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management owns 80.1% of Chrysler, while Daimler owns the other 19.9%. It also has substantial stakes in Chrysler’s financing arm and GMAC, GM’s financing company. It’s safe to say Cerberus has a lot riding on the ultimate outcome for the domestic auto industry.

If Cerberus finds a way to profit from the Chrysler/Fiat deal, or somehow makes out from a Chrysler bankruptcy, there’s likely to be significant public backlash. It would be just one more way “those Wall Street guys” could take taxpayer money, similar to the American International Group (AIG) bonuses or Merrill Lynch (BAC) office redecorations -- to say nothing of the outrage over the Troubled Asset Relief Program itself.

What’s more, it may be tough to stop Cerberus. The company has a lot of firepower, both from people who are in the business of making money -- who are experienced in getting every penny they can out of a deal -- and those who know how to smooth things out in Washington.

A Cerberus spokesman noted that the company has said it's willing to give up its equity in Chrysler to use in the restructuring, though Cerberus is also one of Chrysler's creditors, so the outcome could be complicated. And there have already been calls for Cerberus to foot more of the bill for Chrysler's restructuring. (Cerberus defends itself here.)

The firm has employed some political heavy hitters over the years, including former Vice President Dan Quayle. The current chairman is John Snow, who served as Treasury Secretary under George W. Bush.

It also isn’t a pushover in dealmaking: A Wall Street Journal article from August 2005 said that “Cerberus is known for tough tactics.”

“Tough tactics,” at least on the business side, isn’t the milieu of the U.S. Treasury Department, which has had its hands full trying to get $165 million in AIG bonuses back, wooing private-sector companies to participate in a joint investment plan to get bad assets off bank books, and more.

To make matters even worse, Treasury is still understaffed and likely doesn’t have the manpower to review agreements and try to play hardball on any deals.

Of course, if Cerberus does walk away with a big chunk of government cash, one thing taxpayers can probably still count on a press conference from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, or some other state Attorney General, assuring us he’ll ask for the names of the people who got the money.