Leading up to the bailout

This is a pretty good story of what's happened with the bailout and Paulson's relationship to it. It goes into some of Paulson's more ambitious possibilities for the TARP as well.

'Paulson's new 'Global Banking Corp.'

Federal ethics laws let him sell $484 million in Goldman stock tax-free when he left. Net worth, about $700 million... 

First Goldman pays Paulson megabucks, then "lends" him to Bush, a virtual Trojan Horse. Now Paulson's preparing the way for his grand march back into private life by throwing billions of taxpayer dollars to his old buddies. So Goldman gets billions, and taxpayers get a pile of illiquid junk. Scam? Yes, and a classic case of moral hazard: Freed of risky liabilities, Wall Street dances off into the sunset, laughing at the stupidity of the American taxpayer. If Paulson did return to Goldman, his future bonuses would likely more than double his net worth. In short, his 30 months in government will undoubtedly make him a billionaire while costing taxpayers a trillion in new debt as a result of his inaction and incompetence.