Reuters published a handy summary of Paulson's bail out proposal along with the counterproposals by Democrats :

• Would allow up to $700 billion in mortgage assets to be held by Treasury at any one time.
• Allows the Treasury to buy any mortgage-related assets, both residential and commercial, for a two-year period. The plan does not detail the types of mortgage assets this could cover and or how long the government could hold them, and does not establish how they would be valued. However, if deemed needed to promote financial market stability, any type of financial instrument could be bought.
• Assets must have been originated or issued before September 17, 2008, by a financial institution having "significant operations" in the United States. This provision could also be waived if deemed needed to promote financial stability.
• Assets could be bought from any financial institution, including but not limited to banks, thrifts, credit unions, broker-dealers and insurance companies. If deemed need(sic) to promote financial stability, however, assets could be purchased from non-financial companies.
• Grants the Treasury broad authority to decide how to purchase, manage and dispose of the assets, including setting up a special fund and naming financial institutions to work for the Treasury Department.
• The Treasury secretary would be given these powers to ensure stability or prevent disruption of financial markets and to protect the taxpayer.
• No court or government agency could review the secretary's decisions. The secretary would report to Congress within the first three months and then twice yearly.
• The U.S. debt limit would be increased by $700 billion to fund the plan, to $11.315 trillion from $10.615 trillion.

I have highlighted the hair-raising sentences. Now, go read the whole thing now!