Turns out bailing-out those too big to not be bailed-out can be profitable, and not just for the bailees.
Read the Federal Reserve’s press release and report, Federal Reserve System Monthly Report on Credit and Liquidity Programs and the Balance Sheet to find out how profitable, at least on paper ($2.7 billion in the last quarter despite a combined $5.2 billion in losses on loans to Bear Stearns and AIG) and for whom. See also news coverage in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.