But I think that significant intervention was warranted.  Nobody wins in an unchecked chain reaction of bank failures.  To do nothing would have been tantamount to letting a house fire burn itself out-- the whole building would have been destroyed.  I have quibbles with the form of some of the specific actions, but I have been very pleased with the actions of several highly competent Bush appointees, including Ben Bernanke, Sheila Bair, and Hank Paulson.  Thank goodness Bush ran out of incompetent cronies to nominate for important positions in his second term!