Another day, another mad power grab by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

Only in government does failure bring more responsibility.

Federal agencies have long had extensive regulatory powers over commercial banks, but allowed the banking crisis to develop despite those powers.

It was a failure of will, not an absence of authority.

If the authority is extended over more institutions, there is no reason to believe we will have a different outcome.

This power grab is designed to divert attention away from the manifest failure of, first, the Bush Administration, and now the Obama Administration to devise a credible plan to deal with the crisis.