02:26 pm
Harumph
So the bailout passed. Can’t say I’m thrilled. Congress did not exactly cover itself in glory here, and they’ve given far too much away both to Paulson and Wall Street. I’m still not sure why an interim $150 billion dollar package would not have made just as much sense.
Judging by the reports coming out of Sacramento and Detroit, this is only the end of the beginning. And the TED Spread went up today, higher than it’s ever been. Unless the credit crunch begins to ease, things aren’t going to get better anytime soon.
In terms of politics, I doubt that this will help the McCain campaign. First, it reminds people of the mess we’re in. Second, it takes attention away from last night’s debate. Third and most importantly, it reminds everyone of how ineptly he handled things during the first bailout vote, and highlights that this got done even though he did not suspend his campaign.
Barack Obama probably should benefit, both in terms of his willingness to step forward and push for the bailout, and his role in convincing a number of Democrats to switch their vote. Given the polls showing that Biden won last night, it’s going to take a major meltdown or an unexpected foreign policy crisis for Obama to lose at this point.