Never fear, TARP is here!

The White House broadly hinted at an auto bailout but the Treasury Department just explicitly stated it stands ready to prevent the imminent failure of the automakers. Having set off one tsunami of unintended consequences with the decision to let Lehman go bust, Bush, Paulson and Co don’t want to be set off another. They’ll kick the can past the turn of the year then pass the baton to the new guy.