Washington Bank Heist

Willie Sutton said he robbed banks because that's where the money is, but it was never their money. They only handle and maneuver it around, like parking lot attendants.

Yet, according to Sen. Dick Durbin, after smashing up financial vehicles and taking taxpayer billions for repairs, when it comes to the US Senate, banks "frankly own the place."

As he tried unsuccessfully to line up votes to help avoid foreclosures in bankruptcy, Durbin told voters that though it's "hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created," they "are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill."

In the lull before the Obama Administration announces results of bank stress tests, there is growing sentiment for getting tougher on the keepers of the keys.

Sheila Bair, head of the FDIC, in a speech this week called for an end to the "too big to fail" philosophy that has allowed banks to hold a gun to the government's head.

“Taxpayers," she said, "should not be called on to foot the bill to support nonviable institutions because there is no orderly process for resolving them.”

The President himself foresees an end to "the massive leveraging and the massive risk-taking that had become so common," but his economic team so far has been tiptoeing around the banking industry and their Wall Street cousins, hoping to bribe and cajole them into less greed and more responsible behavior.

The time is coming to sweep out the parking lot and get new attendants who can remember who really owns the money they keep jockeying around for their own profit.

The Spreading Blagojevich Blot

Illinois' governor has gone on a “political corruption crime spree” with actions that have “taken us to a truly new low. The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” US Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said at his press conference today as the scandal unfolds with multiple questions about Barack Obama's replacement in the Senate.

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who ironically pushed the state's Whistleblower Law, calls on Blagojevich to step aside and urges the General Assembly to enact legislation removing his power to fill the Obama seat.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate’s second-ranking Democratic leader, agrees and suggests the legislature schedule a special election, effectively pushing Blagojevich aside.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Obama's designated chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, another Illinois politician, may have blown the whistle on Blagejovich, while the President-Elect says today:

"I had no contact with the governor or his office and so I was not aware of what was happening. And as I said, it's a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that, I don't think it's appropriate to comment."

With everything else going on in the transition, it now looks as if Illinois may be without a second Senator for a while, but one political prediction looks safe: In the next gubernatorial election, Republicans will be putting pressure on Patrick Fitzgerald to accept their nomination on a platform of cleaning up the mess.