Half-cocked Legislation

It's probably necessary to have some kind of a financial rescue package, but that wasn't the right one and it didn't come at the right time. For something allegedly so serious the Congress behaved irresponsibly in not giving the matter thorough consideration, including hearings. True, the Democrats significantly walked back the Administration's proposed give-away. But not by enough. Though Republicans in the House were not completely coherent in their objections, they had a better sense of the toxic nature of the thing than did the Democrats. I doubt the House leadership can manage on a re-vote to pass the very same bill, but significant changes in its language will take time to hammer out. Now, perhaps, we'll see whether Paulson was crying wolf. And if he was, that'll fundamentally alter the terms of the deal.