Somthing smells fishy here

Is this $700 Billion bailout a Republican plan, or not?

The stated need for it comes from the (Republican) Treasury Secretary. The (Republican) President says it is vital to the nation's interests. The current plan has been 'hammered out' as a bipartisan effort in Congressional committee meetings. It seemed like a compromise had been reached; the Democrats had pushed through modifications to what was originally an awful, dangerous Republican proposal.

But then John McCain flies in. He goes to a high-profile meeting at the White House, and suddenly the Republican caucus has 'serious concerns' about this plan, and thinks it is 'too big'. According to newspaper accounts, McCain doesn't take a stand either way.

It seems the Republicans are playing both ends of issue: It's their proposal, and they're objecting to it. They're the ones saying that we need it, and they're the ones saying it's not a good idea. John McCain is saying he's going to provide leadership, and he's not taking a stand.

I suspect that McCain will soon 'demand' some minor changes, and will be presented as twisting Republican arms to achieve a 'compromise'. This will burnish his credentials as a 'maverick' who's 'not afraid to take on his own party for the good of the nation'. It sounds like a callous political ploy to increase his appeal to independent voters.

Lost in all this is the question of whether the $700 Billion bailout is really necessary, and really a good idea. If the Republicans are willing to play politics with it, is it really that urgent? And are they working to position it as a Democratic proposal to start us 'down the road to Socialism'? The events of the past day could be a sideshow to distract us from the real issues, and provide the Republicans with their cake ($700 Billion to bailout businesses from very profitable, bad business decisions) and eat it too (complain about 'liberal Democrats' and big government.) Watch out!