CHUCK'S CHUTZPAH

Well, no one ever accused Sen. Chuck Schumer of letting any sense of shame hold him back.

Ditto for irony. Still, it was a bit surreal to see Schumer - one of the prime apologists for the faulty federally backed mortgages now dealing body-blows to the US financial system - laying the groundwork yesterday for yet more government meddling in the loan business.

"We need to build an impermeable wall around the student-loan market to protect our kids from this financial crisis," he said at Stuyvesant HS in Manhattan.

It's unclear exactly what such an "impermeable wall" might look like, though Schumer said he had asked Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to pay "special attention" to student loans. He also called for a commission to figure out how the federal government can expand its loan program.

But one thing's for sure: This kind of talk should make taxpayers exceedingly nervous...

[sometimes the words crisis and panic are justified]

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