He used to be the savior of last resort, but lately fed has eliminated the need for him to step in (or raised the floor above where buffet would make a move).
Buffett has always had pretty conservative holdings with Berkshire and a top tier credit rating. So in 2008 when a lot of businesses needed liquidity he came in with it on very generous terms to him making billions. For instance he loaned Goldman 5 billion dollars to keep them afloat and in return got preferred shares that made him much more money. This was in return for the risk he took.
Now the government and Fed are offering almost unlimited liquidity to businesses so he can't do that. The problem with this is that the government is NOT getting Buffet like terms.
Buffett would often invest in distressed blue chip companies. The companies often gave him a very good deal in return for the halo of Buffett approval.