Forget the "let's be non-partisan" BS that has to be there whenever you are trying to take advantage of a situation to get what you want.  Any time a politician says that Republicans and Democrats should come together on this, he is asking for something.

Obama's support for the plan hinges on including 4 "principals" - and I seriously doubt he will sign a bill that does not include most of it:

1. Emergency bail-out plan for FAMILIES who are hit by this financial crisis.  This is the big one.

2. None of the bail-out money can be used to provide golden parachutes for the executives who got us into this mess.

3. STRICT new oversight and regulations that make certain that this will never happen again.  He also wants an "exit strategy" for the bail-out and a means for the public to get their investment paid back.  and

4. The G-20 have to be included in this plan, since these are world markets we are trying to help heal.  I'm not sure exactly what he had in mind, but I have no doubt he is planning something there.

I'm not sure what Obama said that gave you get the idea that Obama would support a bail-out plan that does not include all or most of this.  Obama has been asking for this stuff for at least a year, and he intends to use this opportunity to get it.  He figures we have the Bush administration by their Wall Street balls, and we are going to squeeze to make certain that the public is helped by this bail-out and not just the wealthy.

by rbruck on 09/19/2008 06:05:53 PM EST