Open Thread

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: bailout in trouble.

What seemed like a done deal Thursday morning fell apart by afternoon. With Congress set to leave for recess, an agreement seems less likely. Stocks are set to open much lower, and the financial system once again looks like it's teetering above the abyss.

Although he put his campaign on hold to try to help the situation, John McCain is actually being blamed by Democrats and some in the media for the breakdown in negotiations even though folks inside the meeting dispute this. There was some suggestion that Democrats orchestrated a marvelous trap for McCain yesterday that worked very nicely to embarrass the Republican presidential candidate.

Of course, if you read deeply into some of these McCain-blaming articles, you'll find that Republicans are not behind the Paulson plan, haven't been for days, and that McCain was specifically asked by Paulson through Lindsey Graham to come back to Washington and help broker a deal that Republicans could get behind. 

How is this playing out, is there going to be a deal, who's going to be the winners and losers OTHER than the American taxpayers, and will there be a debate tonight?