Two hours before Republican leaders failed to deliver the number of votes they said they would, McCain was on the stump taking credit for building a winning coalition in support of the bill.
After the bill fell short in the House, the Dow tumbled 777 points, the worst single-day drop at least since the day after 9/11.
The bailout legislation, while extremely unpopular, is vitally necessary. The Democrats are not going to approve the package cleaning up Bush’s mess without substantial Republican support as well. At the same time, both parties want to protect their weaker members from the wrath of voters who will get stirred up by populist sentiments on the right and left. So the leaders cut a deal such that Democrats would produce a certain number of votes and Republicans would too, just enough to pass, and allowing members in unsafe districts to vote no. But the Republican leadership fell short and didn’t produce the number of votes they said they would. Afterwards they whined and threw a fit and blamed Speaker Pelosi saying she gave a “partisan” speech just before the vote that hurt their widdle feelings. BooHoo.
And so, Republicans admit that they place petty, partisan politics above the economic health of the nation.
So what is next? Does McCain suspend his campaign again? Does he send Sarah Palin to Washington to negotiate with House Republicans so that she can skip Thursday’s scheduled debate with Joe Biden? The possibilities are endless.
Meanwhile, I though Barack Obama’s response was the most reassuring.
"It's important for the American public and the markets to stay calm, because things are never smooth in Congress, and to understand that it will get better...We are going to make sure that an emergency package is put together, because it is required for us to stabilize the markets... So I'm confident that we are going to get there, but it's going to be a little rocky."
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