$700 Billion Bait-and-Switch

Remember the $700 billion bailout of the banking industry?  The one that authorized the U.S. Government to purchase "troubled assets" from the banks and other financial institutions?  The one that was pushed by George W. Bush and that John McCain, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden all voted for?

Don't worry about it if you don't remember it, because the Treasury Department isn't using the money to buy "troubled assets" after all.  Instead it is buying bank stock with the $700 billion that was, apparently, authorized with no strings attached and no oversight.

Dan Arnall at ABC is calling this "change in plans" a "quick pivot" and asks if "this is the biggest bait and switch in American history?"

It sure smells like it.

A big thanks to the majority of our representatives in Washington, D.C., for the stench.