Just so that we remember the central planning began under Bush.

Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says he was justified last year in suggesting that Bank of America Corp.’s chief executive could lose his job if the bank backed out on plans to buy troubled Merrill Lynch.

…In prepared testimony, Paulson said he told Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis last year that reneging on his promise to purchase Merrill would show a “colossal lack of judgment.”

Paulson said that “under such circumstances,” the Federal Reserve would be justified in removing management at the bank.

Rep. Issa nails it:

Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Paulson’s testimony makes clear that the government became too involved and misused its power.

“It is a threat to the foundations of our free society when government officials, acting in the midst of a crisis, use dire predictions of imminent disaster to justify their encroachment on our individual liberty and the rule of law,” said Issa.