After bailout, the hard part

In signing the measure, Bush warned Americans not to expect instant results. 8220;This will be done as expeditiously as possible, but it cannot be accomplished overnight. We8217;ll take the time necessary to design an effective program that achieves its objectives 8212; and does not waste taxpayer dollars.8221; Even after working feverishly over the last two weeks, the Treasury will not buy its first distressed asset from a bank for roughly six weeks, and almost certainly not until after the Nov. 4 elections.

Treasury officials do not plan to manage the mortgage assets on their own. Instead, they will outsource nearly all of the work to professionals, who will oversee huge portfolios of bonds and other securities for a management fee.

The Treasury is expected to name a senior official to supervise the program. For now, various working groups creating the program are reporting directly to Henry M Paulson Jr, the Treasury secretary.

Paulson has recruited several former colleagues from Goldman Sachs to advise him, though administration officials took pains to say that they were not dominating the process, pointing to other Treasury employees who were playing major roles.

8220;We will move rapidly to implement the new authorities, but we will also move methodically,8221; Paulson said.