Obama on the bailout

Barack Obama, at a rally in Charlotte today, spoke on the Paulson/Bush bailout plan:

... the Bush Administration has only offered a concept with a staggering price tag, not a plan. Even if the U.S. Treasury recovers some or most of its investment over time, this initial outlay of up to $700 billion is sobering. And in return for their support, the American people must be assured that the deal reflects the basic principles of transparency, fairness, and reform.

First, there must be no blank check when American taxpayers are on the hook for this much money.

Second, taxpayers shouldn’t be spending a dime to reward CEOs on Wall Street.

Third, taxpayers should be protected and should be able to recoup this investment.

Fourth, this plan has to help homeowners stay in their homes.

Fifth, this is a global crisis, and the United States must insist that other nations join us in helping secure the financial markets.

Sixth, we need to start putting in place the rules of the road I’ve been calling for for years to prevent this from ever happening again.

And finally, this plan can’t just be a plan for Wall Street, it has to be a plan for Main Street. We have to come together, as Democrats and Republicans, to pass a stimulus plan that will put money in the pockets of working families, save jobs, and prevent painful budget cuts and tax hikes in our states. 

A video of the speech can be found here.

On a related note, Politico is reporting the Paulson/Bush plan is not finding a lot of supporters among Senate Republicans:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that “Republicans have many serious questions” about the administration’s proposed bailout plan, though McConnell stopped short of directly criticizing the proposal.

Several of McConnell’s more conservative Senate colleagues, including Republican Sens. Jim Bunning and Jim DeMint have already blasted the bill, which could cost upwards of $700 billion.

One can't help but get the impression the momentum is rapidly moving away from the White House plan for the bailout.