McCain gave the lie to his ‘change’ pledge (ok, that ship sailed a long time ago) by backing Bush’s welfare for…. um, sorry, bailout for ailing financial institutions that even his conservative supporters can’t stomach. What leadership he showed by suspending his campaign (how exactly does that work with his operatives still campaigning and ads running?) to rush to Washington where fellow Republicans were waiting for him to swoop in and save the day. Instead, his supporting Bush apparently scuttled bipartisan work on an alternative plan that would help homeowners and not reward scumbag bankers leaving everything shot to hell. As Rep. Waxman, chairman Ways and Means put it, “It’s hard to imagine where we go from here.”

Inside an intense White House meeting over the financial crisis on Thursday, where nearly every key player came to an agreement on the outlines of the bailout package, Sen. John McCain stuck out. The Republican candidate, according to sources with direct knowledge, sat quiet through most of the meeting, never offered specifics, and spoke only at the end to raise doubts about the rough compromise that the White House and congressional leaders were nearing.

McCain’s reluctance to jump on board the bailout agreement could throw the entire week-long negotiation into a tailspin. Sen. Chris Dodd, after leaving the White House, suggested on CNN that the tenuous process could be derailed by what he viewed as McCain’s political motives.

Add to that the latest weirdness like the Letterman debacle, Palin’s utter inability to say anything beyond the party line (after weeks of coaching) in the Couric interview (and even that badly), and all the rest (the sheer volume of distortions, missteps and what have you is mind boggling) and you have to wonder what’s next. Could the TV talking heads be right that just before the election McCain will ’see the light’ and replace Palin with a heavyweight? Will McCain himself step aside, for the good of the country, allowing an even bigger heavyweight to run for President? In a campaign as goofy as this, I’ve reached the point where I believe anything is possible.

For all Obama’s faults, even if you disagree with his policies, wouldn’t you rather have him in the White House than the mess that McCain/Palin is daily showing they are?

Anyway, as Washington plays politics, more of our financial underpinnings crumble.

JPMorgan to buy WaMu

JPMorgan Chase acquired the banking assets of Washington Mutual late Thursday after the troubled thrift was seized by federal regulators, marking the biggest bank failure in the nation’s history and the latest stunning twist in the ongoing credit crisis.

Under the deal, JPMorgan Chase will acquire all the banking operations of WaMu, including $307 billion in assets and $188 billion in deposits.