Hundreds of thousands of orders pour in for Turkish shoe thrown at President Bush.

The Fed has set up something called the TALF, the Term Asset-backed Securities Loan Facility, which will offer "low-cost three-year funding to any US company investing in securitized consumer loans" including hedge funds.

Says the Financial Times (reg.req.), "Since the credit crisis erupted, hedge funds have complained that they cannot get the leverage they need to arbitrage away excessive spreads and meet high hurdle rates of return."

Barack Obama announces his appointees for key science offices -- and in a not-too-subtle swipe at the Bush Administration, promises to make sure that ideology will not trump the facts. That and other political news in today's Election Central Saturday Roundup.

It's going to take a lot of money to make the rich people rich again.

In an internal RNC memo obtained by TPM Election Central, chairman Mike Duncan acknowledges that the GOP has lost its reputation as a "party of ideas" and warns against "falling back on ideology alone."

A little recount trickery from Norm Coleman ends up netting more votes for Al Franken.

From TPM Reader DM ...

Bill Simmons, a sportswriter for ESPN, coined the term "Tysonic". It refers to Mike Tyson, and applies to anyone who has entered a sphere of existence so bizarre, you will believe any news you hear about them, no matter how absurd. Aside from Mike Tyson, Britney Spears is Tysonic. After the turkey interview, I classify Sarah Palin as Tysonic.

As a native Chicagoan, I say Blogo is definitely Tysonic. If someone told me, "Hear about Blogo? He dressed himself up as Elvis, highjacked an Air Yugo flight from O'Hare to Belgrade, and is now living under the protection of Serbia... And he's formed an exploratory committee for 2016."

I'd pause for a moment and say, "Yeah, that sounds right."

Are Bristol and Levi married yet?

Policy statement from Rick Warren's Saddleback Church ...

"Because membership in a church is an outgrowth of accepting the Lordship and leadership of Jesus in one's life, someone unwilling to repent of their homosexual lifestyle would not be accepted at a member at Saddleback Church."

(ed.note: Special thanks to John Aravosis' Americablog.)

Sen. Shelby (R-AL) releases statement about auto bailout ...

"The plan the President announced today gives the taxpayer no upfront assurances that these companies will take the steps necessary to become efficient and competitive. In fact, the only assurance the taxpayer has is that these companies will be back for more money soon. It is unrealistic to think that companies who have failed to make tough choices over decades will get their act together now that they have received a down payment from the taxpayer."

"Congress was wrong to grant the Administration the authority to bail out the financial industry through the TARP in the first place. The President is wrong to use this authority to bail out GM and Chrysler. Instead of pursuing the more responsible course to ensure that these companies restructure through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the President chose to stick the taxpayer with the tab as he walks out the door. I believe it is a shameful attempt by the President to protect his own legacy. The taxpayer will surely remember him for it."

Blagojevich: "I have done nothing wrong."

Goes on to quote Kipling ...

(Yes, We'll have video soon.)

(ed.note: Special ed.note Deep Thought: Rod Blagojevich may be insane.)

Greg Sargent explores what the Rick Warren pick does -- and doesn't -- say about Obama's so-called new politics.

His original conviction was overturned on appeal, but another jury has now convicted David Safavian on retrial, on all four counts of obstruction of justice and making false statements.

Rick Warren's record of public statements isn't holding up very well under scrutiny. The latest: his praise for Syria's tolerance and moderation.

That $700 billion for TARP was a lot of money.

Top Dozen Insights of Conservatives, 2008

Over the last few days a number of readers had told me they were picking up hints that the folks fleeced by Bernie Madoff might themselves come calling for a government bailout. I'd been skeptical. But now it seems like that is exactly what may be coming.

Late Update: On a related note, read Krugman's column today on Madoff and whether he was all that much different from the rest of folks on Wall Street making gazillions and running the economy and country into the ground.

As one of my colleagues just remarked here, Bush is surprisingly lucid and cogent in explaining why bankruptcy is not a viable option for the automakers in the short run and why doing nothing is not viable in the short or long term.