Bush's Treasury turns its lonely eyes to emerging Democratic majority

Ever since September, we've been treated periodically to the odd spectacle of Bush and Paulson, Obama and Democratic Congressional leaders allied against revanchist Republicans in Congress in their efforts to prevent economic cardiac arrest.

Accustomed though we may be, this statement from Treasury today takes these extraordinary alignments to a mind-bending new level:

The Treasury Department promptly indicated that it would provide short-term relief to the automakers. “Because Congress failed to act, we will stand ready to prevent an imminent failure until Congress reconvenes and acts to address the long-term viability of the industry,” a Treasury spokeswoman, Brookly McLaughlin, said.

So: Bush's Treasury is looking forward to the advent of a 58-42 Democratic Senate majority to save the economy.

It seems clear that no one with ultimate responsibility -- e.g., presidents and treasury secretaries at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum -- would allow the automakers to fail at this moment when recession totters on the edge of Depression.