"These are the days of miracles and wonders." The market has collapsed! Only the government can save us now! Thirty years of cant have evaporated. Suddenly, we're all in it together--Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke in the lead, Congress pulling like postpartisan galley slaves, George W. Bush lying low and looking, no doubt fervently, for the exits.

Something must be done--but on what terms? Treasury proposes to spend $700 billion to buy mortgage-backed securities, accountable to no one. Paulson asks for trust. But has he earned it? Remember, he started out in office gutting the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; he tried to cripple the SEC and recently relied on Morgan Stanley--not a disinterested party--for advice on the nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Therefore "trust but verify," as Ronald Reagan would (and did) say.

Congress must impose conditions to protect the public, the national interest and, not least, the interests of the next administration. Herewith a short list:

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