First, let me say, I'm not a fan of the bailout. I understand that people are going to be in some serious trouble when these banks collapse, but man... it just doesn't solve the problem. We see this more often with the airlines. If an airline is going to collapse... LET IT. It means there are too many airlines or it means that airline was run so poorly it can't compete.

Both campaigns are saying we need more regulation and they both grudgingly support the bailout. The difference is...

McCain has been deregulating this industry for years. Not something that outright caused the collapse, but something that contributed to it. Now that it's collapsing, he's no longer "fundamentally a deregulator" and he says we need more regulations. Short-sighted is not a quality I like in a President.

Obama tried a couple of years ago to get regulation put in to avoid this upcoming collapse. (Help me out here, I read this a couple of days ago, but the news article space has been flooded with stuff. If you can find me a reference to this, please let me know). While everyone is calling for regulation of the industry NOW.. Obama saw it coming and was trying to avoid it.

Who gets bailed out?

The point of the bailout is protect the investors. Both candidates, and much of Congress, is saying that the bailout needs to go to the people-at-large and not the executives.

McCain said that any CEO shouldn't get “any more than the highest paid person in the federal government.”

I have a couple problems with this.

First... What about the CFO? What about other executives that fucked the whole company up?

Secondly... any more than the highest paid person in the Fed? Want to know who that is? It's the President of the United States. They fucked that company up so hard, a company that was relied upon by millions.. and you want to reward them with what you reward the President? Dude, fuck them. They've already made millions and millions of dollars. They don't need a paycheck, certainly not the largest paycheck the Fed gives out.