A lot of folks in the eithersphere are arguing the pros and cons of the recently failed bailout bill. Many are arguing from outdated information, believing it would have given $700B immediately, that it had no limits on executive pay, or that it included nothing to guarantee that funds wouldn’t be lost.
This page from the Wall Street Journal provides a great summary of the differences between the 3-page Paulson bill of two weekends ago, the version developed by Dodd and Frank in the middle of the week, and the final version that was voted on yesterday. If you are going to argue, please make sure you know which version you are discussing.
One other note: This article from the LA Times shows why the vote really failed: worries about joblessness. Specifically, representatives were worried about losing their jobs. Of note from the article:
Pleas from a president may not work either — especially if the president’s public standing has fallen to record lows. White House spokesmen said Bush called dozens of GOP members of Congress. His efforts appeared to bear little fruit. Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas) said the president called him, but the lawmaker explained that he preferred to listen to his constituents.
In such a situation, even a powerful vice president such as Cheney can no longer command votes from members of the House. “Cheney lived up to his reputation as Darth Vader . . . talking about all the terrible things that were going to happen,” said Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.). “People weren’t afraid of Darth Vader.”
Nor did Republican members appear to pay much heed to their presidential nominee.
Over the weekend, aides said, McCain spoke to at least 11 House members to try and round up votes. On Monday morning, he told a rally in Ohio that his intervention had helped aid the expected deal.
Of the 11 lawmakers that the McCain campaign said the nominee talked to Saturday, seven voted for the measure, although five of those were members of the House GOP leadership. Four, including two from Arizona, did not.
As for Obama, he “lobbied gently”, but Pelosi had done much of the work for him. Still, many Democrats listened to their constituants more than their party leaders.
