Who Actually Got the Call at 3am?

Hush!

--Cue somber music--

Last night, there WAS a call at 3am.

The call was about whether American financial markets would fall into a tailspin--possibly sparking a global economic collapse.

The "venerable" Wall Street brokerage company Bear Stearns was unable to make payments on its loans and there was a strong concern that the failure of a company like Bear Stearns would lead to a crisis of confidence in financial markets.

The Fed used a little-known power it last exercised in the 1960s to stem a run on Bear Stearns that could have sent multibillion-dollar losses cascading across the world financial system, causing more failures on Wall Street and threatening to choke off global economic growth.

Decisions had to be made. Was the federal government going to be a party to the bailout? If so, what kind of bailout? Who would be involved? What would be the conditions?

If something was going to be done, it had to be done right away.

So, who got the call?

Was it President George Bush?

No, as far as I can tell from the Washington Post article, George Bush slept peacefully.

Instead, the call went to Ben Bernanke, the chair of the Federal Reserve Board.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn, New York Fed President Timothy F. Geithner, and Fed Governor Kevin M. Warsh conferred in those early-morning hours on calls, which also included Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Undersecretary Robert K. Steel. The Treasury Department had no formal role in the plan, but Fed leaders consulted Paulson and Steel for their financial markets expertise and to get their support.

Frankly, I'm reassured that Bush, Cheney, and the people in the White House were still sleeping while these decisions were being made. Maybe we'll get through the next ten months after all.