... because I'm really with BTD on this, so I'm going to chalk the few recent lapses up to whatever stress factors left Paulson short of breath and possibly ill --from the overpowering scent of Pelosi's White Diamonds? -- so ill that he needed to have Chuck Schumer walk him to the mike.
Anyhow, Krugman praises this column by Rex Nutting, not noting Nutting's nutty conclusion:
Rejection of the plan means there's no political solution to this financial crisis on the horizon. As it now stands, the markets are on their own.
The next six weeks will tell whether the coup d'etat in the House on Monday has created a political crisis to match the financial one.
In what sense, please, is the House voting down a trillion dollar bailout for Hank Paulson's golfing buddies a "coup d'etat"? Especially when voters were outraged by the bailout and didn't want it passed?
Unless, of course, you take the view that Wall Street (and moi, Rex Nutting) really run the country from behind the marble facades of the Hill, the Mall, and the White House -- and that the voters' views just aren't relevant.
But Rex couldn't have meant that. Right?
NOTE Actually, Rex's view may be more prevalent than I thought.