A trillion dollar hole as compared to over $20 billion in profits would have helped the economy? How?
The choice was to crash then and quickly recover with or keep the debt piling up and crashing later and more spectacularly. Thanks to TARP, Obama (part of the McCain's loss is from rushing back to pass TARP), foreign campaign money, etc we will have the later, larger crash. Probably default, maybe some hyperinflation along with that. After that the end of American military strength, etc.