A Little Common Sense, Please?

Tea: Apricot

Music: Potato Moon, "Ghost Man"

Time: Night.

So the president's bailout plan went down in flames, and fingers are pointing every which way. The way I see it, though, it's a chance for Congress to do the right thing (for once).

I didn't come up with this idea, but it's brilliant:

Instead of bailing out the big lenders, use that $700 billion to pay off the home loans themselves. Then let homeowners pay the government back, as they can. If it takes a while, it takes a while -- but people don't have to worry about losing their homes, which lessens a huge stressor on the middle class.

Obvious benefit: People who aren't desperate are less likely to do desperate things. As home foreclosures soar, watch for the crime rate to shoot up, too.

Okay, so maybe expecting that many people to do the right thing for the right reason is unrealistic. So put it to them as Bill Murray might have phrased it in Ghostbusters:

"If this works, you will have saved the homes of millions of registered voters."