Economy is getting worse and banks' books are still weighed down with junk. Obama will deliver a 'message' for Wall Street to get credit flowing, aide says.
It's back to square one.
The deepening financial crisis, which is undermining the government's rescue efforts, is prompting federal officials to revisit the original bailout measures. These include taking toxic assets off institutions' balance sheets by moving them into a so-called "bad bank," according to published reports. 
As long as these assets remain on banks' books, there's no telling how long their losses will continue and how deep they will be.
Addressing these assets was the original purpose of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the formal name of the $700 billion bailout plan the Bush administration unveiled as the credit crunch spun out of control. It was later abandoned in favor of taking equity stakes in banks, which was seen as a more direct and rapid way to help.
But as the economy worsens and banks continue to rack up multi-billion dollar losses, incoming President Barack Obama, whose aides have already begun consulting with Bush administration officials, will face tough choices in deciding what to do with the $350 billion remaining in the bailout plan.
A top adviser to Obama said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that the new president will "have a strong message for the bankers."
"We want to see credit flowing again," said David Axelrod. "We don't want them to sit on any money that they get from taxpayers."
The Obama administration, which takes office Tuesday, will discuss how to administer TARP in the days immediately following the inauguration, Axelrod said.
