I wonder if the government might have got a better return on its investment if the sale had been delayed, but that depends on the overall economic situation: and if the US gets any closer to potential default, the timing could be right, inasmuch as the overall economic position may well have removed any possibility of a sale whatsoever.

The thing I notice more and more is that the branches of the US government aren't singing from the same hymn-sheet, significantly lessening the possibility of any emergency economic measures having the effect intended.