ReFaving @zzelinski. Almost everybody in the media is saying the nonapproval of the bailout is a disaster. Further, they argue that those who opposed the bill did so because of politics (e.g. the "Main Street" voters they represent want to punish "Wall Street") but are not giving more thoughtful analysis.

This is the first article I've read that gives some high quality reasons why a bailout might not be the right approach.

Quoted: Talk of Armageddon, however, is ridiculous scare-mongering. If financial institutions cannot make productive loans, a profit opportunity exists for someone else. This might not happen instantly, but it will happen.

Quoted: Further, the current credit freeze is likely due to Wall Street's hope of a bailout; bankers will not sell their lousy assets for 20 cents on the dollar if the government might pay 30, 50, or 80 cents.

Quoted: The obvious alternative to a bailout is letting troubled financial institutions declare bankruptcy. Bankruptcy means that shareholders typically get wiped out and the creditors own the company.
...
Bankruptcy punishes those who took excessive risks while preserving those aspects of a businesses that remain profitable.

The Iraq war costs about $12 billion a month. For perspective, the bailout is estimated at $700 billion.

She said they took the Bush administration’s 2008 request for war funding – $196-billion – and divided it by 12 to get a monthly cost. That works out to $16-billlion for both wars and about $12-billion just for the Iraq portion.

Quoted: Sen. Chuck Hagel has become one of the most prominent Republicans to openly question VP nominee Sarah Palin’s qualifications on Thursday.

Quoted: Former Bush adviser Karl Rove said Sunday that Sen. John McCain had gone "one step too far" in some of his recent ads attacking Sen. Barack Obama.

Quoted: It was a day of choreographed harmony for Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton at an outdoor rally Friday.

Quoted: Barack Obama is no liberal goo-goo. Republicans keep calling him naïve. But naïve is the last word I’d use to describe him.

Quoted: In an interview last week with ABC, Bush said, "I think she probably meant 'I'm more proud,' you know, is what she really meant." She said comments in a campaign are closely watched and can be misconstrued.

Quoted: Hillary Rodham Clinton told colleagues Tuesday she would be consider joining Barack Obama as his running mate, and advisers said she was withholding a formal departure from the race partly to use her remaining leverage to press for a spot on the ticket.