Thought that $700 billion bailout sounded like a lot? It turns out that it's almost all spoken for. Only about $60 billion is left. The New York Times reports today that having gobbled down most of the pie, lobbyists are swarming over the rest. They want to get their share before the last session of this administration is over -- before, you might say, the lame-duck's cooked.

The lobbying is apparently working. On Monday, just days after the troubled insurer AIG hosted a $343,000 conference at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak resort in Phoenix, the Treasury announced it would inject a total of  $150 billion into AIG because the company is in such critical shape. That's a record amount for a private company--up from $85 million obtained from the government in September.

Those poor benighted credit card peddlers at American Express won approval that same day to transform themselves  into a bank holding company eligible for public help.

Now the big question seems to be: do boat financing companies represent a pressing national interest? The National Marine Manufacturers Association believes they do. Ditto the auto manufacturers. They're hoping Hank Paulson will agree that it's in the national interest to offer credit cards to kids and unaffordable cars and boats to Americans on credit.

What isn't up for debate, apparently, is that the Bush administration will be shrinking Medicaid payments to hospitals for outpatient services. The Bush administration insists that its new law, which is set to take effect December 8, isn't intended actually to reduce federal spending or hurt already anguished states, but rather to clarify what is economical and appropriate. Heaven knows, the Bush administration knows all about that.