–The DNC revives the famous McCain line to paint Republicans as irresponsible stewards of Wall Street and push financial regulatory reform.

–Bob Corker’s still optimistic: He expects a “70-vote bill” by Memorial Day.

–But he sounded pretty sour on the bill this morning on MSNBC, calling the notion that it was tough on Wall Street “laughable” and accusing the administration of weakening the resolution title he drafted with Mark Warner. Video:

–Senate Dems plan to keep the $50 billion resolution fund for now. Though Treasury has never been wild about it (the FDIC was its big proponent,) it may be used as a bargaining chip to win Republican support down the road.

–To set the record straight on the resolution fund: Whether or not the financial sector pays to unwind big firms is not at stake. It’s when they pay that’s the issue. The fund would offer some upfront money to dissolve a “too big to fail” institution. Treasury would loan the FDIC money to cover additional costs and then the government levies a fee on the financial sector to recoup whatever they didn’t make back from liquidating assets. It’s either partially pre-funded or totally post-funded by big banks. Both the Dodd and Frank bills are explicitly designed to protect (non-bank) taxpayer dollars, ex ante fund or not. (They both have one.)

–For all the hubbub over resolution, the lobbying scrum has centered around Blanche Lincoln’s derivatives plan. Derivatives and leverage requirements present the biggest potential for major change.

–Noam Scheiber writes the financial sector has lost ground fast and the Goldman suit has put new pressure on Democrats to hold the line. It’s a well reported piece and he offers a taste of how the White House is feeling right now: