the citizen-viewer

Reading about the bailout and its political implications, some wonder if this is the Republican equivalent of the military strategy whereby retreating armies destroy everything in their path in order to deprive the enemy of any resources with which to carry on their campaign.

It makes sense to consider that Bush, who has been as myopically partisan as one can imagine, would end his administration with the ultimate “bad for the country but good for my party” move. This outlook also adds another conspiracy theory to the many swirling around the Bushies. This time they planned all along to let the markets crash in order to roll out a poisonous rescue bill that bankrupts the future, enriches their friends, and makes the Democratic Congress responsible for it all. If played right McCain might even pull out a win in the election.

The trouble is that the bailout stinks too much to pass, and that McCain’s campaign has become so badly disorganized by the financial crisis that it won’t be able to do much with the politics of the bailout.

Letting Bush have his way one more time—and at a cost double that of the Iraq War—is a bad idea. Chris Dodd did well today in holding the big three Bush administrators on the crisis to account, and he’s got an alternative that has some accountability and some value for taxpayers. It’s not necessarily an ideal proposal, but it shows again that Dodd was the best of the also-rans in the Democratic primaries.