The Great Bailout

US President George Bush has said that Democrats and Republicans will come together to pass the bailout plan to rescue the US economy.

All well and good, if what he says actually comes to pass. However, the bailout was never a matter of merely throwing billions at the problem to make it go away but of injecting confidence into the economy.

The bailout plan had the possibility of working, until it became apparent that Paulson in fact had no plan and McCain pushed himself in front of the cameras in a bid to appear as a dealmaker (thus wrecking any possibility of th deal being passed last week).

Bush then publicly said that the world economy was in gave danger if the plan was not approved, and privately said during the disastrous McCain inspired meeting that "this sucker is going to go down". Paulson, pouring petrol on the flames, then got down on bended knee to Nancy Pelosi (House Speaker) begging her to pass the bill.

Those actions and words send a very clear signal that those in office are not in power. No matter how many billions of dollars are now thrown at this issue the markets have had the confidence kicked away from beneath them by the failed leadership in Washington, and the desire of a very old angry man to become president.

The road ahead is uncharted and dangerous. Bush has done to the US economy what no terrorist or hostile country could ever do, that's quite a legacy!