Ken Lewis is one smart guy. Not only is he keeping Goldman Sachs alum John Thain close, he is cashing in on that relationship for billions more in taxpayer dollars from the Goldman alum decision-makers at the Fed and Treasury by claiming that the takeover of Merrill Lynch is in jeopardy. There are doubtless landmines on ML’s balance-sheet Lewis’ men are just discovering. But I’d wager dollars to donuts the larger problem remains digesting Countrywide’s toxic mortgage stew.

Lewis must also see the battering Citigroup is getting as the omni-provider banking model comes under assault from all angles. The BofA CEO has good reason to question the wisdom of taking Merrill on at the same time so many banking fundamentals are in turmoil. He can quiet reasonably say to the Feds, “Either help me now, or watch me go the same way as Citi. Won’t that be fun for everyone?”

When, at some point this year, the bailout music stops it still looks like at least one of the three — Citi, BofA, or JPMorgan — will cease to exist. Lewis is trying to claim a chair ahead of that, even if it means being more than a little coy about the reasons why. The larger reality, however, is that additional federal help will almost certainly come with large strings attached, effectively turning BofA into a national financial utility company.