Bailout for Big Business: Also see yesterday's posting: Bailout must benefit Main St., too
▪  Today from AP -- Bush scrambles to save $700 billion bailout plan -- Still-President Bush tries to bring rebellious members of his own party behind a multibillion-dollar government bailout of the financial system amid bitter political recriminations from both Democrats and Republicans.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Talks implode during day of chaos -- Partisan presidential politics seemed to trample exceedingly delicate Congressional negotiations over the $700 billion bailout package. 
▪  In today's LA Times -- Public isn't buying Wall Street bailout -- Angry protesters mob Wall Street, telephones ring off the hook in House and Senate offices and a group of prominent economists send e-mail blasting the proposal. Opinion polls have wildly varying conclusions about support for Bush's $700-billion bailout plan, but the increasingly loud roar coming from all corners of the nation shows that the idea has touched a particularly sensitive nerve among the public.
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- Away from Wall Street, economists question basis of Paulson's plan -- The plan centers on two premises: that the economy could suffer a crippling downturn if action is not taken very quickly and that this action should consist of the government buying troubled mortgage securities. Many of the nation's top economists disagree with one or both of those ideas.
▪  In today's NY Times -- What about the rest of us? (editorial) -- Political theater delayed the passing of the $700 billion bailout package. The wait will be worth it if keeps Americans in their homes.
▪  Today from AP -- CEOs get rich when they get out -- With Congress still trying to construct a Wall Street bailout which will likely limit CEO pay, some of the poster boys of the financial crisis have already fled the scene, taking millions of dollars in severance packages with them.
▪  In today's LA Times -- Attempts to limit CEO pay have failed -- For every rule put into place to curb executive compensation, a new loophole is found. And the bailout may be no different.

McCain Revealed:
▪  In today's NY Times -- McCain leaps into a thicket -- He intended to ride back into Washington as a leader who had put aside presidential politics to help broker a solution to the financial crisis. Instead he found himself in the midst of a remarkable partisan showdown, lacking a clear public message for how to bring it to an end. At the bipartisan White House meeting that McCain had called for a day earlier, he sat silently for more than 40 minutes, more observer than leader, and then offered only a vague sense of where he stood, said people in the meeting.
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- The photo McCain wanted (Dionne column) -- John McCain's sudden intervention could not have been more out of sync with what was actually happening. His boisterous intervention -- and particularly his grandstanding on the debate -- was less a presidential act than the tactical ploy of a man worried that his chances of becoming president might be slipping away.
▪  From AP -- McCain remains undecided about tonight's debate with Obama -- He pledged to stay in Washington D.C. to work on a deal that would address the financial crisis. But there were signs McCain was looking for a face-saving way to make the debate, even if a deal wasn't sealed.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- McCain should debate (editorial) -- McCain will look silly and erratic if he does not participate in tonight's presidential debate. The American people need to hear from him and his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, on a range of issues.

Rossi's Special-Interest Roundup:
▪  In today's Olympian -- Free speech at heart of case (editorial) -- The BIAW has already spent more than $2 million (mostly on TV ads attacking Gov. Gregoire) to try to elect Republican Dino Rossi. They say they want to spend another $1 million on Rossi. This morning, a Thurston County judge will hear arguments on whether the BIAW can go ahead and do that, or whether they must wait for a post-election trial. The BIAW is being sued by some of its own members who don't want their workers' comp rebate checks funneled into politics. They say the money belongs in a trust fund and using it for politics violates the trust and is a form of embezzlement. These disgruntled members have filed an injunction to stop the BIAW from spending any more on politics until the case is resolved. BIAW Boss Tom McCabe: "Free speech rights should be protected. The BIAW has never gone after other people's money. We've never gone after the trial lawyers or filed an initiative to make this a right-to-work state so the unions can't have any money. This is an attempt to silence the BIAW before the election. It is infuriating and discouraging that our opponents aren't fighting fair." (The clear assumption in this not-to-veiled threat: unions and trial lawyers are behind the lawsuit.) 
▪  From AP -- Attorney General asked to investigate (his) Republican Party -- The PDC says the Republicans apparently broke the law when they used money from their "exempt" account (which accepts unlimited donations for "party building" but can't be used to support specific candidates) to pay for three mailers that promoted Republican Dino Rossi over Gov. Chris Gregoire.
▪  In today's Olympian -- PDC says Realtors must pay $80,000 -- The Realtors failed to fully report $953,000 in transactions during 2004-07, including $310,000 in independent expenditures in 2004. The Realtors' PAC is currently spending more money to elect Republican Dino Rossi.

Election 2008:
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Rossi takes on minimum wage -- Rossi said he was willing to consider lowering the state’s minimum wage. He said he’d consider the idea of a “training wage” for new employees. (As state senator, he voted to lower Washington's minimum wage.) 
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Gregoire, Rossi speak to business concerns -- Saying "I'm really a more free-market-oriented person," Rossi says he would deregulate the health care insurance market. Gregoire: "His solution is deregulation. Well, that worked great for the financial institutions of America. I don't believe in over-regulation but I believe in reasonable regulation."
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Both Gregoire, Rossi vow no new taxes -- They both pledge not to raise taxes to make up for the state's projected $3.2 billion revenue shortfall.
▪  In today's News Tribune -- Gregoire, Rossi go at it again on taxes, economy -- Rossi repeatedly says Gregoire will raise taxes -- despite Gregoire’s repeated denials.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Republican vs. GOP ballot squabble has day in court -- "Allowing Mr. Rossi to obscure his true party preference and affiliation directly violates the law, would mislead a substantial portion of the voting public and would breed cynicism and mistrust in our public institutions and, indeed, in our electoral process," says the Democratic Party.
▪  In today's News Tribune -- Attorney General candidates Ladenburg, McKenna take off gloves -- Ladenburg asked McKenna why he didn’t recuse himself from lawsuits his office filed last week against the BIAW for illegal political activities. Ladenburg said the BIAW contributed $181,000 to McKenna four years ago. (On election night in 2004, McKenna reportedly called the BIAW to thank them and said, "If it wasn't for BIAW, I wouldn't have been elected.") McKenna said he won’t influence the attorneys who are handling the case.
▪  In today's Bellingham Herald -- Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland misses debate -- The Republican says he wrote down the wrong time on his calendar. (Apparently, so will McCain.)

Local news: 
▪  In today's Columbian -- Teacher allowed to divert union dues to charity -- After nearly two years of deliberations, a teacher gets the green light to divert her union dues to the charity of her choice.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- "Choppway" plan for Alaskan Way Viaduct unveiled -- The eight proposals for replacing the aging viaduct are presented to stakeholders. In all, the state is looking at three surface-boulevard options, two aerial viaducts and three tunnel options.
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Human wrongs (editorial) -- Let's imagine that from the beginning governmental bodies granted partnership benefits for gay and lesbian workers. What would happen in tough budget years? Would employers target certain workers and rescind the medical coverage for family members? Of course not. Such discrimination would be so outrageous that it wouldn't even be proposed. Instead, if benefits had to be cut, it would be done across the board.