Robert Kuttner

One not-so-secret weapon in building President Obama’s filibuster-proof majority could be John McCain, as well as other frustrated GOP moderates.

Now that the financial crisis has damaged his reputation, deregulation-pusher and deficit-hawk Robert Rubin is on a quest to remake himself.

Instead of just throwing money at banks that it can’t or won’t control, government should exercise the rights of ownership — which is to make policy.

As Obama puts together his shortlist for treasury secretary, he should stay away from ex-Wall Streeters and former Clinton administration officals. Current FDIC chair Sheila Bair looks better by the day.

Here is the radical implication of this collapse: The next financial system, rebuilt by governments on the ruins of the old one, needs to be plain vanilla.

Bush, Bernanke, Paulson, and the incoming president would do well to avoid the mistakes of the Hoover-Roosevelt interregnum, a stand-off that made it even more arduous to climb out of the Great Depression once Roosevelt finally took office.

The Paulson plan will take weeks to implement, and markets are already declaring a resounding vote of no-confidence.

Congressional leaders need to look to more than just passing the bill in the House.