700 Hundred Billion Dollars, And Make It Snappy!

Bizarre squabbling over the Wall Street bailout plan: Republicans mobilize against Bush, Democrats rush to his defense.

The 700 billion dollar bailout of Wall Street and the American banking system with taxpayer money is sheer insanity – but what can be done when the alternative is the collapse of the entire American economy? The architect of the bailout, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, laid out a plan that at first blush would be opposed by any thinking Democrat. His plan went something like this: “700 billion dollars for needy Wall Street bankers and let’s get with it right now, make it snappy, we’re not going to discuss it!”

Democrats demanded quid pro quo and eventually there was a compromise. Not one Paulson was particularly happy with, but one he accepted because, after all, the Democrats had a majority in Congress.

But what happened then was a revolt by Republican market ideologists: They grumbled a little about market “socialism” and finally wound up rejecting the plan put forth by President George W. Bush’s Treasury Secretary as if they were a cabal of left-wing liberals. A paradoxical situation: Congressional Republicans withhold consent from the Bush administration at a time when it has fallen into serious distress.

The banking crisis will go on. And as it continues, John McCain’s hopes for the White House will disappear. His area of expertise is defense policy, not economics.