The bailout may be killed by add-ons

The list of additions to the $700 billion Paulson bailout plan could well kill it.

Democrats from Nancy Pelosi to Barney Frank want the program to include everything from individual home mortgages to the compensation of Wall St. executives. Paulson himself has suggested that the legislation may need to include the US operations of foreign banks. According to Bloomberg, "a change to potentially allow purchases of instruments such as car loans, credit-card debt and other devalued assets may force an increase in the size of the package as the legislation proceeds through Congress."

The fighting over who will be included "inside" the bailout circle and who will be kept from benefiting from the program may determine the survival of some operations including hedge funds. In that sense, every man is fighting for himself.

The effects of the lobbying will be two-fold. First, if the plan is extended to include individual home mortgages and things like auto loans, the size of the fund will have to be increase, perhaps to over a trillion dollars. That will make it harder to get Congressional approval.

The battles over the scope of the plan could also push its approval past the Friday deadline that Paulson has requested.

Put simply, the new burden's on the program's approval could make it DOA which may drive the markets to new lows.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.