The topic below was originally posted on my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

In the grown up world, honorable and reasonable people may initially disagree but eventually compromise upon a collective review of empirical evidence. It was in this spirit, that the nascent Obama administration reached out to Republicans with respect to their proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which finally passed both houses of congress yesterday.

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Well, it appears the NY Times has the scoop on TARP II, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will outline it in a speech tomorrow. Essentially, Geithner has prevailed. What this means is Wall Street has just won a big one, and Main Street just got screwed...huge.

According to the NY Times, here's the deal: "Geithner Said to Have Prevailed on the Bailout."

Geithner Said to Have Prevailed on the Bailout
By STEPHEN LABATON and EDMUND L. ANDREWS
Published: February 9, 2009 (late today)

WASHINGTON-- The Obama administration's new plan to bail out the nation's banks was fashioned after a spirited internal debate that pitted the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, against some of the president's top political hands.

In the end, Mr. Geithner largely prevailed in opposing tougher conditions on financial institutions that were sought by presidential aides, including David Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president, according to administration and Congressional officials.

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This story's running on the wires now:  "Geithner Delays Bank-Rescue Speech to Keep Focus on Stimulus."

The fact that Geithner's speech is being delayed isn't exactly surprising.  T.A.R.P. II is pretty ugly, IMHO.

Geithner Delays Bank-Rescue Speech to Keep Focus on Stimulus
By Catherine Dodge and Greg Stohr

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner postponed his unveiling of the administration's plan to shore up the financial industry as officials focus on getting approval for their separate economic stimulus plan in the Senate.

"The Senate votes on Monday, and economic officials administration-wide will be working and consulting with senators throughout the day," the Treasury said in an e-mailed statement in Washington today. "Secretary Geithner will postpone the release of the administration's Financial Stability and Recovery Plan until Tuesday to allow for that to happen."

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While I'm sure many will accuse me of overexaggerating the importance of this, much like DKos blogger Words in Action's diary tonight over at the Big Orange, "Krugman: What the Centrists Have Wrought," I truly feel that one of the most important comments ever posted on a blog appeared early this evening, written by Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman: "What the Centrists Have Wrought."

Here it is:

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