The best (that is, the most nausea-inducing) part of this New York Times report on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan to intervene directly in the banking system comes near the end:
Industry executives quickly told Mr. Paulson that they liked the idea, though they warned that the Treasury should not try to squeeze out existing shareholders. They also begged Mr. Paulson not to impose tough restrictions on executive pay and golden-parachute deals for executives who are fired.
Mr. Paulson heeded those pleas.
I know I should end here with some sort of zinger. But words fail me.