Treasury said the plan needed to be implemented carefully, but the sense of urgency seems to be gone.

The problem is, the banks have been using the bailout money to buy other banks, rather than using it to back new loans to individuals and small businesses; basically padding the paycheques of their upper echelons, rather than stimulating the economy, as the money was promised to do. The members of the House and Senate who voted for that bailout have been cheated by the banking industry, and now they have to go back to their constituents and tell them despite the fact that their burden of individual national debt has gotten much higher, the economy isn't going to get any better.

Who's bright idea was it to deregulate the banks? Oh, yes. Greenspan and Reagan. If there was ever a time for flaming effigies...