Reply #3: That would have required some leadership

[gratuitous]

And in 2008 that was in very short supply. Bush didn't want to admit that his economic policies, like everything else in his administration, was a crashing failure. Paulson knew as well as anyone not to cross the boss, so he wasn't going to suddenly rear up on his hind legs and sound the alarm if George wasn't ready. As the plunging bus of the economy was about to hit the ground after going over the cliff, Bush finally, grudgingly agreed that maybe everything wasn't sweetness and light.

And once the signal was given that it was okay to warily acknowledge there were problems, the gusher was released just in time for Bush to skedaddle along with the rest of his gang and leave the mess for someone else to clean up. Folks who paid attention to his career before his daddy bought him the White House to play with should not have been surprised.

The encouraging signs are that the oil industry, the Texas Rangers and the State of Texas have all been staggered, but they survive the negligent stewardship of George W. Bush. He had longer to fuck up the entire country, but we're pretty resilient. We'll get through this, as well.