In less than a week, the American taxpayer has been saddled with nearly $1 trillion in debt. And the worst thing - it's not over yet. Investors are panicked and running away from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley faster than Republicans have been running away from George Bush.

You can thank Newt Gingrich for at least some of this mess.

Gingrich and the Republican Revolution of the 1990's was largely built on stirring mistrust of government, demonizing government workers, convincing the public that taxation was evil, and tossing government regulation out the window.

If Newt and the Neocons who came into power had their way, just about everything would be privatized. All we had to do was let the free market flow and everything would work out fine.

No only has John McCain spent much of his career in the Senate advocating for deregulation, he almost got caught up years ago in the savings and loan scandal.

McCain, one of the "Keating 5," was best buds with John Keating, who left the taxpayer with the $80 billion tab for a scandal that was rooted in deregulation, lack of oversight, and greed.

McCain was not accused of wrongdoing, but the investigation raised questions about his judgment.

Now that the country can't even protect the safety of its food supply, McCain has changed his tune and is advocating regulation.

He's looking less like a maverick and more like an opportunist.