>>>>>>The best campaigning he could possibly do would be to get the economy out of the toilet. It seems a little frivolous for him to be going on entertainment shows at the moment.
>>>>>
>>>>>I agree. I have a feeling that some of these public appearances could come back to bite him come next election time, especially if there is no marked improvement of the economy.
>>>>
>>>>FWIW, the DOW is up almost 300 points... so far today ... *shrug*.
>>>
>>>This is the step that has been needed for six months, getting those toxic assets off the books. I am not surprised that the market responded enthusiastically.
>>
>>Haven't those 'toxic assets' just moved from their book to yours?
>
>I haven't read about the new program in detail but I thought the government was going to seek investors to buy these "assets."

The government 'owns' those assets, except in some cases. For example, the FDIC auctions off banks who they close down every Friday. Some are never sold and are owned by the taxpayers. Of the other toxic assets, sometimes they are purchased as a 'giveaway' with something else (which is worrisome because they could be part of another bailout later on), but most are still owned by the government like AIG via preferred shares.

Actually there is a really good blog about it here (you may have read it):

http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2009/03/02/aig-the-nightmare-of-government-ownership/