Dewbie - Grab yer ankles.

Everyone else....

From the Wall Street Journal - "Mr. Paulson told Mr. Lewis that the government would provide cash from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to help BofA swallow Merrill. But since the government didn't want to reveal this new federal investment until after the merger closed, Messrs. Paulson and Bernanke rejected Mr. Lewis's request to get their commitment in writing."

Dewbie - Back to you....Your tax dollars helped Bank of America purchase Merrill Lynch. Bank of America would not have gone through with the purchase otherwise, and Merrill would have FAILED. Sounds American, huh? Let me know if you need a dumber version....

....and this was all pre-messiah. Imagine what hindsight will be telling us a year from now.