I have often put myself in Bush's moccasins when he is told by his Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve that if he does not act within hours the entire financial system of the Western world will crash, that nation will be devastated, millions will be thrown out of work, that the implications extend even to starvation and rioting in the streets.
If one acts precipitously one sets a bad precedent and wastes a couple of hundred billion dollars. On the other hand, if one fails to act when required, the consequences are horrible. You cannot investigate the situation and determine who is right in a few hours available, you can only look into the eyes of the men who implore you to act and hope what your read is more accurate than when you looked into Vladimir Putin's eyes.
Given that scenario, I think I would have made the same choice Bush made.
Do you know of any studies since the events which come down one way or the other?
No, I haven’t heard of any academic studies at all, either about Bush’s reasons for promoting TARP or about G.S.’s intrusion into the federal government, just blogger speculation of the type that I and thousands of other FReepers love to engage in.
As far as G.S. is concerned, given the state of American journalism these days, probably the only investigating of its role in present-day government will be done by resourceful and patriotic investigators in the blogosphere.
Bush’s actions, on the other hand, will surely be sliced, diced, and microscopically scrutinized by left-leaning academics and journalists until hell freezes over.