Emperor Paulson?

Are you ready to anoint a king?

I’m troubled by several aspects of the deal Congress and the president are cooking up in an effort to save Wall Street from itself.

But here is a part of the deal that is especially outrageous: The proposal would grant the treasury secretary broad power to act without any oversight and without any review by a court or administrative agency.

The Society of Professional Journalists, of which I have been an officer in various capacities (currently I am on the board of the SDX Foundation, which supports the society’s educational prorams), issued a press release this week bringing this to light. Read it here.

Politicians feel an irresistible urge to make quick and rash decisions in the face of a crisis. Remember how fast Congress passed the Patriot Act after 9/11? This bailout seems destined to receive little if any real scrutiny as it speeds its way into law. The president and congressional leaders are all but saying every lawmaker has a patriot duty to pass it quickly.

I say it should be defeated. Let cooler heads prevail before politicians make things a lot worse. Am I right?