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There's been a lot of talk about what Barack Obama and John McCain think of the bailout deal. But as a practical matter, their opinions aren't particularly important. This will be passed in a matter of days, not after November. So the key players to watch are Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, chairs of the relevant Senate and House committees, and Pelosi and Reid. And Dodd, at least, seems to have bought into the basic structure of the bill. From this morning's Early show:
Well, I think we got the right man in Hank Paulson in place. That's very, very important. I don't think any of us disagree that we--we're going to need this level of financing for this, and we want to give him the authority to do this. Those of us up here who are also charged with the responsibility of dealing with this also are concerned about what happens to taxpayers, so we want to make sure that they're going to be first in line if, in fact, we're able to sell these assets and bring back some money to the Treasury.Odd statement. Fulsome praise for Paulson, rather than a note of skepticism. Acceptance that we're going to buy assets back from these companies rather than demand equity in these companies. And the cautiously stated hope that taxpayers will be first in line "if, in fact, we're able to sell these assets and bring some money to the Treasury." Constructing this deal such that the government's investment is repaid does not seem a huge priority. Dodd does, to his credit, argue for greater accountability, and an attention to homeowners "because the core of this problem is still the foreclosure crisis." True enough! But those of us looking for a shadow of skepticism in Dodd's reaction to the basic architecture of the plan have little to cheer about. And given that he's the liberal Democrat in charge of the Senate Banking Committee, if he's decided to roll over for this, there's not much hope for a serious strategy of opposition.
