John McCain roared into Washington yesterday and reportedly broke up an agreement on the bailout deal. In doing so, he went against not only Democrats but the Republican president, the panicked Republican Treasury Secretary and Fed Chairman, and Republican Congressional leaders. Instead, he sided with a small band of outraged Republicans grousing about violation of free-market principles. So was this idiotic McCain self-destruction, as most people are suggesting? Or was it a brilliant populist move? We think the latter. Americans hate the Hanke-Panke plan, which they accurately view as a bailout of the financial-services companies and executives that helped get...
