At the final, critical meeting in negotiations on the $700 billion Wall Street bailout—the last round of talks began at 10:40 p.m. Saturday and ended around 12:25 a.m. this morning - Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson was so short of breath that lawmakers called the Capitol physician because they were so concerned.
Paulson, 62, a former Dartmouth offensive tackle, told lawmakers he was fine and waved off the doctor, despite working around the clock for several days.
But as Paulson and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) later walked to the microphones to address the media, they were locked arm in arm. Treasury confirmed moments ago that Schumer was steadying Paulson, helping him walk.
This makes me wonder: Are we getting a little too hysterical about all of this? Sec. Paulson’s health issues may or may not be related to the pressure of the current financial mess we’re in (I’m inclined to believe they are), but isn’t his round-the-clock schedule sort of an indication that we may be rushing into this too quickly? Will the world end if we don’t have a deal done by tomorrow?
I realize that we are at a serious juncture, but maybe we all need to step back and take a deep breath and think about what we’re doing before we do it.