Admitting Defeat

Someone needs to tally the number of times Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson have said there is something that won't happen, or something that they'll never do, and lo and behold we'll see that thing happen or the action taken months, weeks, or days later? That's not meant as harsh criticism, it's actually refreshing to see government move at light speed. Here's the latest instance waiting to happen:

- September 23, Paulson, in response to a question about recapitalizing banks through equity stakes:

we're trying to get markets working, because we don't want to have to deal with a failure. RTC is about failure. Putting capital in institutions [is] about failure. This is about success.

- October 8, New York Times:

Having tried without success to unlock frozen credit markets, the Treasury Department is considering taking ownership stakes in many United States banks