Okay, and I mean defending it only with the Dem changes, including especially the requirement for oversight and an equity stake in exchange for buying the bad debt.

But here's the thing, buying assets, however toxic, looks to me a far better alternative than alternative suggestions I've seen that amount to various forms of insurance without buying any assets. The reality is that the United States is de facto acting as an insurer of failed institutions, which means the US government is taking on massive risk with almost zero upside possible and less ability to control what's happening. And institutions continue to fail, as WaMu showed.

So contra even some of my lefty comrades who have righteously and rightly condemned the possibility of a giveaway to the corporate pigs, I think the bailout is in the end the lesser evil. Here's why (below the fold):

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