Nothing much is likely to happen until Obama and the next Senate take office in January. Obama may pull a Roosevelt on the banking system.
So is it good that the crisis has really not come to a head till so late in the Bush presidency, so that him and his cronies havent really had to deal with it? this being as I understand it the last reporting period before the election, if it had happened six weeks further on then it could be sold as response to the election of Obama, if six weeks forward then Bush might have tried for real to fix it, and who knows where that would have lead. Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
So, you're right, politically for Bush 2008Q3 is the worst time for things to come to a head. Year-end could have been blamed on Obama being president elect spooking the markets, and Feb/March 2009 would have marred his first 100 days. A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith
