I imagine the Repubs will now come over and defend that veiwpoint and that McCain is showing real leadership with this view.

I wonder how long McCain will be "for" the bailout, until he is noncommittal again.

...As long as I can invade Iran in 2009. And I am unanimous in this.

DON'T RUSH FOR BAILOUT LEGISLATION!

Dire urgencies and fear have pressed legislators to make hasty decisions during this past 8 years. We had to get the Patriot Act to keep us safe after 9/11, which stripped us of many Constitutional guarantees and rights. We had to approve the Iraq war, or we’d have mushroom clouds hanging over our cities, that has cost us over 4,200 American lives, drained our treasury, and still not caught or brought to justice, the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks (who are in Afghanistan and Pakistan). We had to defy the Constitution and pass an ex-post-facto law FISA bill (retroactive immunity for illegal wiretapping) or we would see future attacks on the US. Now, we have to bail out Wall St. or we’ll have a total economic collapse. In each instance, legislators reacted to bogus imminent fears, and gave unbridled power and money to the administration with negative outcomes.

Wait for the election to pass legislation for any bailout, and allow the next president-elect (who'll be dealing with the consequences) to take a leadership role in the proposed legislation. Another 40 days won't make matters worse, as we Main St. Americans have already dealt with the adverse affects of the economic downturn for quite some time.

Paulson is a Wall St. insider, appointee of Bush, who plans to leave his post in January to return to Wall St. His objectivity should be questioned, and given his temporary status, someone who will be commanding such a rescue plan for the long haul should take the helm. A bi-partisan commission, with economists and experts should be created to oversee any bailout with strict rules for oversight and accountability.

Our nation will soon be over $11-trillion in debt (with the proposed bailouts), which will cost every US resident at least $1835/annually (at a modest 5.5% rate) for interest-only payments with no reduction of principle. Our nation is at the very point of insolvency, yet we keep borrowing just to finance the debt. Soon, we'll be asking the IMF for debt relief, like other third-world countries. Between tax cuts and spending increases, the government has sorely mismanaged the US treasury. Borrow-and-spend is far worse than tax-and-spend. We will need a balanced budget amendment, and to increase revenues (TAXES), while making deep cuts in spending, including defense appropriations, as well as the earmarks and pork. The crippling debt is impacting us in many ways: infrastructure, education, healthcare, environment, energy-efficiency, and entitlement programs.

Leaders must make difficult, realistic decisions, but sadly, most politicians want to curry favor with special interests and constituents, while passing the “buck” to others. Reality checks are imperative, and our representatives need to set us on a new course, if we’re ever going to get our fiscal house in order. It’s plain that we can’t have everything we want, not pay for it now, and pass unbridled debt on to future generations. Massive unpaid debts/loans got Wall St. into their bind, and our government into a fiscal crisis. Legislators should be considering fixing the US treasury, and solving our nation’s debt crisis, before relieving Wall St. of theirs.

McCain successfully torpedoed a supposedly negotiated bipartisan proposal on Thursday. There was no pending proposal when Lehrer asked the question. It was the only question Lehrer asked that was really stupid. It looked like he hadn't done his homework, asking how candidates would vote on a proposal that had not been developed yet. McCain didn't catch on. Obama did. Lehrer seemed to think that Obama was evading, but he was simply reflecting the reality that it is unknown what Congress will eventually vote on.

We shop at Walmart. We hate windmills and love oil derricks. Our kids go to schools where only the teachers' grades matter. We elect B movie actors to high office. Our god is ethnically cleansed. ...and your point is?

Screw the bailout. No fucking way. Let the Fed fail, and good riddance.

The idea of keeping such a corrupt system alive on life support is offensive. LET IT DIE ALREADY the world will be a better place.

Not exactly an accurate quote, Mr. Leonard. What I heard McCain say was "I hope so." Both candidates avoided answering the question directly, because of the fact that there WAS no bailout plan at the time and they couldn't know what they were expressing support for. I sort of wish either of them had said that explicitly, but as far as I could tell McCain got closer to a real answer than Obama by saying "I hope so." Obama just kept saying we need to remember how we got here. A disappointing answer, given how much great hay he could have made over McCain's bizarre behavior the past few days.