McCain's "new" proposal

You know that "grand idea" McCain unveiled during the debate, wherein the government would buy up bad mortgages to help stabilize home prices?

A better idea was first proposed by Obama and it's already part of the bailout bill that just passed Congress.

Obama mentioned this in the debate but it was subtle (unfortunately).

UPDATE: From Salon:

John McCain wants the government to massively overpay for mortgages in a plan that would guarantee taxpayers lose money, and put them at risk of losing even more if home values don’t recover. The biggest beneficiaries of this plan will be the same financial institutions that got us into this mess, some of whom even committed fraud.

The Obama campaign response tacks very closely to a denunciation of the plan delivered by economist Brad DeLong who says that "McCain's plan is for the government to buy up $300 billion of distressed mortgages not at current market value but at full face value," which, he says, would amount to a $100 billion handout to the bankers who made the original loans.