Paulson, Geithner, Bernanke, and Bair sat in Paulson’s office, waiting. With the exception of Kovacevich’s grumbling, the meeting had gone well, much better than they had anticipated. They had effectively just nationalized the nation’s financial system, and no one had had to be removed from the room on a stretcher. Paulson, running his fingers over his stomach, as he always did when he was deep in thought, still couldn’t believe he had pulled it off.
