Since the impetus for the current problems was banks giving mortgages to whoever asked for one, isn't reasonable that even with the bailout there is going to be a credit crunch since one assumes banks are going to be much more prudent than before?

Also, like the first letter writer I was initially though grudgingly for the bailout but the more I thought about it, the more I went against it. For the following 4 reasons.

1. Give one guy 700bil with no oversight? nuh uh. no way.

2. It occurred to me that it seemed a little fishy that the plan was to buy ALL the bad assets. Why no mechanism for determining which institutions really required saving, and which could make it on their own? Would have been easy to do. Just add a few onerous and burdensome requirements and conditions to accepting bailout money then let the institutions decide individually if they want it or not.

3. Not to be glib, I'm totally serious but lets keep in mind this is a Bush admin plan. That alone made me say 'forget the bailout'. These people haven't done anything right. PLUS he's going to come to the people with dire warnings of catastrophic failure, demanding extraordinary and frankly un-American powers to deal with it and it better be quick too. Sound familiar? Sorry Mr. Bush, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice- uh... nevermind, you get it.

4. Wouldn't a bailout just ensure this will happen again? I hate to think of the hardship that I'm told will ensue without the plan but in the long run, especially if it hits me and mine, but wouldn't it be valuable and better for the country to actually suffer the consequences of our actions?

By the way, this is what the 50 state strategy was all about. Forcing McCain to carefully choose where to spend his money since he don't have a lot.

Given the format, all Biden need do to deprive the McCain campaign of what they hope to achieve tonight is attack McCain. If Biden just focuses his remarks on McCain, his policies, and mostly his similarity to Bush, Biden will be gold. Its not important who the media dubs the winner. Whats important is that Biden isn't seen to be beating up on a woman, and hammering home to the independents and undecideds that McCain is not the right candidate.

Why is she constantly grinning to the camera? Its not a beauty contest. So much for her pitbull persona.

As long as Biden didn't attack Palin or give the fundie base anything to get enraged over then Obama/Biden managed to defuse the whole thing and walk away unscathed and McCain/Palin were robbed of anything that might have helped them.

This is my biggest concern about the bailout: Is it going to actually help main street? If the economy tanks anyway, what does the bailout accomplish except saving those companies and the jobs of the people in those companies?

New Bush GWOT slogan: They hate us for our depth perception.

Burqa HUD?

While I agree with the upshot, the reasoning it took to get their is uncomfortably way off. Specifically this by Wolfson

"John McCain's candidacy is as much a casualty of Wall Street as Lehman or Merrill. Like those once vibrant institutions, McCain's collapse was stunning and quick. One minute you are a well-respected brand. The next you are yelling at the messengers of your demise as all around you the numbers start blinking red and stop adding up..."

I know media people like to twist facts to make them fit into their witty analogies but seriously, McCain has been on a downward spiral ever since he started running for '08. He was pronounced dead during the primaries, only surviving to victory because the other contestants were either insane or northeastern liberals or both. Anyone following the '08 campaign from the beginning, as I assume Wolfson has is well aware that McCain has been stabbing his reputation in the back from the get go.

When I heard they were harping on Ayers I actually laughed and felt relief thinking "If that's all they got, Obama's good to go"

I think a lot of undecideds are also going to feel the same way. Also coupled with the pull out from Michigan and NOT focusing on the economy this will also keep his demoralized base, demoralized.

When the dow dropped 777 after the bailout didn't pass, it was held up by the bill's supporters as proof they bailout was needed, i.e. the failure of the passing of the bill caused the drop.

Well as of 2pm the dow is down over 600, what will they say now that the bill has passed and signed?

All folksiness is fake. Its something you do for other people. No one is folksy when they are alone. In Palin's case you can tell its particularly fake cause she does it ALL the time.

McCain's big weaknesses are undecideds and a demoralized base. Any strategy he employs that is considered successful must increase his support amongst both groups. Success amongst one group doesn't win him the election. Everything he's done has been moderately successful with one group but not the other. In fact, often they've been successful with one group to the cost of the other group.

It just occurred to me that the candidate who can best explain to the electorate why the bailout, though grossly unfair and evil, is necessary will pick up a LOT of undecideds.

Personally I don't think the bailout was necessary. I think it was a scam. In fact I think its such a scam they're going to change the name of the 'Nigerian Scam' to the 'Wall Street Bailout Scam' as the default name for scams. Nonetheless the candidate who can allay the most anger will do well. I think it'll be Obama. Simply because I've yet to hear PALIN/mccain say anything that makes sense about anything.