Obama has said he hopes "it doesn't take too long" to pass this legislation. By which, of course, he means he hopes there's no debate. Don't worry, Mr. President.

(I suppose it would be a waste of time to point out to Democrats that they won't be eternally in charge and that this kind of executive power grab will only make complaints about the next Republican president's abuse of power even more impotent.)

But moreover, if we really believe that the state can save a company from inflicting broader damage to the economy, why not have government unilaterally take over other failing institutions? Why not run the steel industry? The auto industry? Why stop?

Think big.

In any event, one doesn't have to dig hard to understand the kinds of conflicts of interest and the thousands of unintended consequences we inject into the market with flailing remedies.

Let's mention just one. Most of those AIG execs have returned their bonuses -- immediately making them far less contemptible than most of Congress.

According to Newsweek, the Federal Election Commission shows that some institutions that received TARP money, such as Bank of America (which got $15 billion) and Citigroup ($25 billion), have been doling out campaign cash to many of the same elected officials intimately involved in bailing them out.

Yet one of the most concerning aspects of all of this meddling is that every sweeping action of government has necessitated another more intrusive, more far-reaching action -- with no end in sight.

When does the prescription run out? Or does it ever run out?