IN THESE confusing times, thank God (actually, thank Irv) for Bill Kristol. Where other men see but through a glass darkly, he sees light. A time like this requires strong, decisive leadership. The president failed. Hank Paulson failed. Nancy Pelosi failed. To whom should we turn? "There is someone," Mr Kristol fils explains, "who might be able to save the economy—and incidentally the Republican party: John McCain." All he needs to do is find a phone booth, a blue leotard and a red cape, and just...Sorry, wrong fantasy. Bill wants him to suspend his campaign. That is not a joke.

He attaches a press release from Mr McCain's campaign blaming Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Mr Obama, you see, phoned it in (something Mr McCain did, literally) instead of leading from the front, like Mr McCain. But McCain could not even corral the votes of his own party, as its de facto leader and presidential nominee. Look, both candidates offered tepid support to the plan for political reasons—in that they were hardly alone. And Ms Pelosi's speech should have been more conciliatory in tone. But the notion that some Republican House members would have voted for the bill—that is: believed that the country was in such dire financial straits that they were willing to upend the free market and spend $700 billion to bail out failing banks—but did not because they disliked Ms Pelosi's tone is shameful. Politicians often give political speeches, it goes with the territory.

Both sides are using each other as cover; both sides know the bailout is a necessary but deeply unpopular evil. Anyone holding their breath waiting for strong leadership from either Mr Obama or Mr McCain will surely turn blue and collapse in short order. Many things must happen before a satisfactory bill is passed. Mr McCain re-suspending a campaign that he never really suspended in the first place is not one of them.

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